Pushing the Envelope
by PhoenixPlume
Summary: Formerly known as One of These days. Lily's adventure begins with a letter, and in the end, her name will begin with a P because James Potter knows how to push Lily Evans's envelope. Yrs 5,6,7.
1. Default Chapter

**One of These Days** by PhoenixPlume

Summary: "One of these days- you're going to realize that I am perfect for you, Evans!" "Well, I have news for you Potter. You have just proven my point about how self centered you are! 'I am perfect for you, EVANS!' You don't even know me; you can't even call me by my first name! 'One of these days' is equal to never." This is about Lily's and James' time at Hogwarts, and how they finally got together.

Disclaimer: I do not own ANYTHING that seems familiar to you. It'd be cool if I did though…

Prologue

It was a hot summer's day in Surrey, England. Lily sat in her room, crying because life just wasn't fair. No matter how hard she tried, things seemed to happen that she couldn't control. Just then, she was suffering the consequences of blowing apart Petunia's breakfast. She hadn't meant to- really. It was all an accident. Petunia had been saying nasty things about Lily's drawing, which Lily had worked so hard on. Then it just happened. Lily hadn't done anything to cause such a fiasco, but her sister's breakfast just- burst into flames. Petunia went into hysterics, and for once, Lily didn't blame her. It was rather freaky how these events occurred whenever Lily lost her temper. All her life, Lily had been doing odd things like this when she was particularly angry. Her parents punished her, but it never seemed to do any good, other than make Lily feel worse. Today had been no exception. Lily felt absolutely terrible.

'How is it that only I wreak havoc when I'm mad? Petunia never does- which is probably good because imagine horrible THAT would be- because she seems to lose her temper whenever she SPEAKS to me. And Mum and Dad never do either. I'm sick of being different. The worst part is—WHAT IS THAT?'

Just then, Lily's train of thought stopped mid-sentence and her verdant, almond-shaped eyes grew wide with amazement. A barn owl was tapping on her window. As most any eleven year old girl would do, she called her mother. "Mum! Come quick! There's an owl tapping on my window!"

Her mother rushed in, her face imprinted with startlement.

"Well- maybe it's hurt, Dear. Let's open the window. We're going to need something to keep it from messing up the room. Ah- hand me that box right there in case it starts flying around."

Lily handed the box over to her calm mother. Mrs. Evans opened the window, holding the box next to the bird, who pushed the box away and flew towards Lily.

Lily remained still, transfixed by the owl, and what it carried- which happened to be a letter, of all things!

"Sh, sh. It's okay, it's okay," Lily said as the bird settled on her arm. But then it did a most unusual thing. It stuck its leg out, the leg to which a letter was tied.

"See what the letter says- maybe someone needs help," Mrs. Evans said, concerned, but excited.

Lily untied the letter, while the owl remained surprisingly tame. The letter was addressed to her. It read: Miss Lily Evans

Bedroom with the round window

1538 Cherrydale Rd.

Surrey, U.K.

Both Lily and her mother gasped in surprise.

"The person even knows what room I live in!"

"Well, open it!" exclaimed Mrs. Evans, nearly as excited as her daughter.

The letter read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment. Please report to the corner of Yorkshire St. and Charing Cross Rd. in London, where you will see a pub called "The Leaky Cauldron" on August 2nd at 1 o'clock p.m. From there, you will be directed to a place where all your supplies can be purchased.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

Lily was shocked beyond words. Mrs. Evans read the letter three more times before she sighed and said, "Lily, as strange as this sounds, I think that considering your, um, _interesting _experiences, you just _might_ be a witch."

"But- but in fairytales the witches are always evil!"

"Which is why they're fairytales…"

"This is so…well…it's quite amazing, really."

"Let's take a look at the list of things you'll need."

The two read through the list, both growing more and more intrigued.

Lily actually wanted to laugh. This whole event seemed dreamlike to her. The titles of the books would normally have cracked her up- but probably the funniest thing she read was "PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS."

'Ha,' thought Lily, 'Since when is having a broomstick so dangerous?'

Lily's mother smiled at her daughter. She loved when her daughter was happy. Just like her tempers, her smiles burst into fireworks all around her. Lily certainly never did things half-way. But Lily interrupted her reverie.

"July 31 is in a week. Do you suppose we just attach a note to this owl and say that I will attend this school?" asked Lily, her brows furrowed in thought.

"Yes, dear. Let me call your father- and try to explain what has just happened. Then we'll write an appropriate response and send it."

"I hope he lets me go!"

"I'm sure he will. We both want you to be happy- which means nurturing _all_ of your talents and abilities."

With that, Mrs. Evans exited Lily's room, wondering how she would explain to her husband that their youngest daughter was a witch.

Lily hummed happily to herself, and reread the list of supplies, wondering what each would look like, be like. She wondered if being a witch involved casting spells on baby princesses- but she supposed that was just a non-magical folk tale. Did wizards tell their children fairytales? Or perhaps their fairytales were about people like the rest of her family…

What if everyone but Lily already knew all of this? Would she be alone? She tried to put that thought from her mind. Soon, her imagination took over as she saw herself waving a wand saying, "Abracadabra." Did witches and wizards actually use that silly incantation? She really hoped this all was real- not a practical joke. But if it was one, it certainly was the most creative one she had ever encountered. At that moment, the owl nipped her finger, as if to make her fears subside.

Mrs. Evans, with a tired look on her thin face, entered the room. She had a smile on her face, and said, "Your father and I have agreed that we will let you go to this- Hogwarts. Not the most attractive name, is it, dear?"

Just then, Petunia burst in, her eyes glaring furiously. "How come Lily isn't in trouble? And why—"

The owl had had enough of this precocious, finicky little girl. It flew off of Lily's arm and herded Petunia out of the room, as if she realized that the receiver of the letter she had delivered did not want Petunia, which she didn't, of course.

"Oh my gosh! Get that thing AWAY from me! NOW! It's-it's-it's got TALONS!" screamed Petunia shrilly.

"Why did you come in here anyways, Petunia? Now she's all keyed up!" accused Lily.

"Now, Lily. You know Petunia didn't mean to. Here," said Mrs. Evans, handing Lily the response she had written up for the 'Hogwarts people.' "I'll hold the owl, you tie the letter onto its leg."

The owl looked quite offended, and flew towards Lily, and perched perfectly still on the bed post. Lily shrugged, and tied the note onto the owl's leg using the same string that had been used for the owl's previous letter. The owl gave one last remonstrative glance at Petunia, and flew off into the gathering twilight.

Mrs. Evans sighed, "I guess we all need to have a little chat."

Petunia eyed them both suspiciously and sank onto Lily's desk-chair. "Well!"

"Honey, you must have noticed that your sister is a little different than the rest of us."

"Yeah. She's a FREAK."

"Well at least I have people skills. With that kind of attitude, it's pretty certain you won't win and influence people," replied Lily, her green eyes flashing dangerously.

"PETUNIA! LILY! That was completely uncalled for. If you two can't get along, neither of you will be allowed to watch your favorite show tonight."

"Yes ma'am," responded each girl in a would-be-respectful tone to their mother. Neither wished to have her privileges taken away.

"Now, both of you be quiet. Let me finish what I was saying. Ah, yes. As I was saying, Lily is a little different from the rest of us. We have all noticed that odd things seem to happen when she loses her temper. Today is a prime example. It turns out that today, of all days, that that owl you disliked so much, Petunia, was carrying a letter for Lily."

At this, Petunia's horse jaw dropped lower. "That's unnatural!"

"Aren't you observant, Pet?" said Lily sarcastically.

"Girls! Stop! Alright. The letter invited Lily to attend a school for witches and wizards."

"So Lily IS a freak?" said Petunia.

"Lily is a WITCH, Petunia. She has magical abilities. I think it's quite wonderful. And I hope you both can learn to appreciate each other's different gifts."

Lily snorted, the thought of appreciation from Petunia was hilarious.

Petunia just glared at Lily. Lily had everything, she was even magic. Well, Petunia was going to show her up in just how down-to-earth and NORMAL she could be. She would show her.

"Well, girls. I'm going to get dinner started. So you need to come set the table. Your father will be home soon," said Mrs. Evans, leaving Lily's room.

"I'm coming with you, Mother," followed Petunia.

"I'll be there in a minute," replied Lily, a smile flickering on the curves of her mouth. 'I'm a witch. I'm going to a school to teach me how to be one, anyways. This is the best day of my life!' With those thoughts, Lily sprang from her bed and floated down the stairs toward the kitchen.


	2. Diagon Alley and Other Strange Things

Ch. 1 The Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, and Other Strange Things

Lily could hardly believe that she was on her way to a pub called, "The Leaky Cauldron." No, it was not the dingy name the pub possessed, nor had Lily never been to a pub- the reason was quite exciting and unique. The Leaky Cauldron marked the beginning of her career as a witch. Today, she would buy all her magical supplies. In just a few hours, Lily would have a wand, spellbooks, but of course, NOT a broomstick. She laughed at the last thing that had popped into her mind. What was it about broomsticks that would make them illegal to first years?

She would soon find out.

"Lily, dear, watch the street signs (they were driving down Charing Cross Rd.). We're almost to York St."

"I see it! Right there! The Leaky Cauldron! Stop, Mum!" exclaimed Lily excitedly.

"I see York St. But I don't see the Leaky Cauldron. Where is it?" asked Mrs. Evans.

"You can't see it? It's that dingy little pub in between those clothing shops."

"I see the clothing shops. It's in between them, you say?"

"Yes."

"Well, dear. I can't see it. But I guess we'll go to the spot where you see it."

The mother and daughter climbed shakily out of the car, one because of her cramped limbs (it had been quite a journey), and the other because of excitement. Lily tugged at her mother's hand, as if Lily were a planet being pulled by gravity towards the sun. The "sun" was a rather old, creaky place. Nonetheless, it was homely and even welcoming. As the two walked through the door, Lily heard a gasp. Her mother had just realized that the Leaky Cauldron was not a figment of Lily's imagination.

Lily didn't know where to look first. At the owner, or at his customers. All of them were wearing robes. Well, no, not all…Lily saw three other kids her age, who looked just as awkward and excited as she felt. Just then, a severe looking lady, with black hair drawn back into a tight knot, introduced herself.

"Good afternoon. You must be Miss Evans. And Mrs. Evans?"

"Yes, we are. A pleasure to meet you," responded Mrs. Evans.

"But you can call me Lily. Miss Evans is rather formal, don't you think?"

The lady looked extremely surprised. "Well, I never really thought about it before. At school, all the professors call the students by their surname."

"Whatever floats your boat," replied Lily cheerfully.

Recovering her poise, the lady said, "My name is Professor McGonagall, and I will be showing you where to buy your things. Those students, here," she moved her hand towards the place the other students stood, "are also first years, who are muggleborn like you."

Mrs. Evans asked, "Excuse me? If you don't mind my asking, what is a "muggleborn?"

"Muggleborns are people like your daughter, who are born into a Muggle family, that is, a non-magical family, but are themselves magical."

"What a funny word!" laughed Lily.

"Yes, well, yes," responded Professor McGonagall. It was the second time she had felt a little flustered. "Mrs. Evans, I will be taking care of your daughter today. I'll be taking them all home. But I'll need money to buy their things with. I have to exchange your currency for our wizarding currency."

"Do you really have time to take all of them home? I don't want to inconvenience you!" said Mrs. Evans.

"It's no trouble at all. She should be home around five o'clock."

"Alright. Here is some money. It should be enough to purchase your books, robes, and things." Mrs. Evans handed Lily money, and kissed her good-bye.

As Mrs. Evans left, Professor McGonagall decided it was time to introduce the students to one another. She gestured to a tall, brunette girl. "Lily Evans, this is Emmeline Vance. And this is Julia Peters." Julia was a short, petite girl with black braided hair. "This is Ted Tonks." Ted was tallish, with blonde hair. "Alright. Follow me."

The students all smiled at each other, and followed Professor McGonagall in her wake. Lily collided into the tall, brunette girl.

"Sorry," said both girls at once.

With a smile, both girls began to talk.

"You're Emmeline, right?" asked Lily in her usual outgoing fashion.

"Yes. But you can call me Em. 'Most everyone does."

"Thanks. So how did you receive your letter?"

"Oh- it was rather funny. We were eating dinner, and my father had just been talking about owls. So when this owl came crashing into our window, well, his eyes got ENORMOUS. It was the most hilarious thing! Then, Stew, my little brother said, 'Did you just do magic, Daddy?' Little did he know…"

Lily laughed and said, "My experience wasn't really humorous. It was more a nice diversion, since I had just gotten in trouble with my mother for blowing up my sister's breakfast. She (my sister, not my mother), was really being a chit."

"Oh- so you do odd things too?" said Julia, out of the blue. "Because once, when this really nasty girl in my class at my old school started making fun of my pale skin, she started getting a little puffy. It would have been funny, except, the magical police people came, which are why I wasn't so surprised when my letter came. I already suspected there must be something a bit odd about me." The girls all giggled.

"Well I accidentally fell off a tree, and instead of a concussion, I just experienced this bouncy feeling," put in Ted.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley, children," said Professor McGonagall suddenly.

Once again, Lily wished she had zillions of eyes, there were so many smells and colors! She could tell the others were at a loss for words also. Professor McGonagall simply took it all for granted.

"First, I'll be taking you to Gringotts, the wizarding bank. Keep close, you don't want to get lost or make the goblins suspicious."

They came to a tall building with dramatic columns. The place breathed with mystery and secrets. The children saw were short, clever looking creatures in uniforms. They didn't look particularly friendly either. Lily figured she should keep on her toes, which she did. Professor McGonagall asked each kid for his or her money to exchange for wizarding currency. After each had his or her due, they exited the ominous structure.

It was certainly a lovely day. The sky was blue, with a picturesque scattering of fluffy clouds. There was laughter and activity everywhere. To Lily, despite the supposed differences of wizards and Muggles, they all experienced joy and sadness the same way- they just had different ways of expressing it.

The first shop the group entered was a clothing store called Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. There were many different kinds of robes, she soon realized. Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall wasn't going to give her much of a chance to look around. She had three others to worry about. They all had to choose plain, black robes. As they were measured, Lily noticed another girl, apart from their group, staring at them with big, mild brown eyes. Lily smiled at her encouragingly. The girl smiled back, looking back as she left the store with her mother.

Em seemed to have seen her too, when she said, "She looked nice. I wonder if she's a first year, too?"

"Looked young enough. Wouldn't it be funny if we all look back on this moment, like they do in those old story-books, and say, 'Little did we realize back then just how great of friends we would become?'" suggested Lily, with amusement.

"Maybe. I guess it could happen," accepted Em good-naturedly. "You know, Lily. I'm glad I met you. I was just so afraid that I wouldn't like anyone at my new school. I'm still scared. But now at least, I have a friend to make it less stressful."

"Me too. I-" began Lily, when she was interrupted.

"That will do you," smiled Madame Malkin kindly. "Is that it, Minerva?"

"Yes. Thank you so much for being so quick. Off to Flourish and Blotts," replied Professor McGonagall.

At Flourish and Blotts, there were millions of books, all on such varying subjects. From spellbooks, to novels, to magazines. As Lily pulled down her _Dark Forces:_ _A_ _Guide to Self-Protection_ (by Quentin Trimble), a boy she had never seen in her life, banged into her. He had a cocky grin on his face, and from his hair, he looked like he had just been through a very bad electric storm. Lily nearly asked him he had been, when she realized- 'wizards probably don't even _use_ electricity.'

"What's your name? Did you know your hair looks like it's burning up?" asked the questionable-looking boy, hazel eyes glimmering behind spectacles that looked like they had been through many trials.

"Did you know that your hair makes you look like you've been through a really bad electric storm?" Lily paused. "You probably don't even know what an electric storm is, do you?"

"Nope. But your hair. Are you SURE it's not going to start turning to ashes?"

"Are you sure that you want me to slap you if you say that one more bloody time?" asked Lily, her green eyes flashing. She had heard the fire-joke way too many times. "If you weren't so addled, you'd realize that I've probably heard that gibe ever since I could talk. And they probably said it before- I just couldn't understand."

"Hmm. I'll have to rethink that one. I'll pick a new target- oh look! A book on quidditch! I wish first-years were allowed to have a broom. Don't you?" asked the boy, an obsessive look etched across his smiling face.

"Quidditch? What is that? Is that the reason broomsticks are dangerous? And how did you know we're first years?" asked Lily curiously.

"You're the right size. You don't get out much do you? Or are you muggleborn?"

"We're all muggleborn," joined in Em. "That's why we're here. Because we had never even heard of wizards before."

"I see how it is. Well- for one thing. Quidditch is the most awesome sport ever played on this small planet, we call EARTH." He said earth as if they were deaf. Several strangers stared at the boy.

"Don't talk so loudly- the entire store must have heard you!" hissed Lily.

"I can do it louder if you want me to," the boy smirked.

"Go on with what you were saying," said Ted. By then, all four were listening to the effervescent boy. Professor McGonagall was paying for their books.

"So yeah. Anyways. Quidditch has seven players per team- it's played on broomsticks. Flying broomsticks, that is," he added quickly, seeing the puzzled expressions on the four others' faces.

"I was going to say, is it like, who can sweep the most?" laughed Julia, who seemed to think the boy was cute. "What's your name anyways?"

"James Potter. Yours? And yours? And yours? And _yours_, you never did answer my question." he replied, the last comment directed toward Lily, who had her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"I'm Lily Evans."

"Julia Peters."

"Emmeline Vance."

"TedTonks."

"Nice. Glad I met you all. I suppose you all are attending Hogwarts?"

"Yes, of course. Where else would we go?" asked Em.

"Well- there's Beauxbatons, and this other school in Russia- but that ones steeped in the Dark Arts."

"Dark arts?" asked Tedquizzically.

"Well-" began James, but Professor McGonagall interrupted with, "It's time to go, children."

"Well I guess I'll be seeing you," said James with a grin, looking especially at Lily. "Especially you, Firehead."

"Well- I'll be counting the moments until I can slap you silly- you- you- " but Lily never finished as she was tugged out of the shop by Emmeline.

After the "James Encounter," the day passed by somewhat normally, well, as normally as any day spent in Diagon Alley. The thing Lily and all the others looked forward to most was getting a wand. A wand was something they all wanted- it sort of linked them to the magic they had each grown up hearing about as babies. The wand shop, Ollivander's, exuded as much age and well, unknown, that Mr. Ollivander did. He stared at them through pale, luminous eyes, taking everything in.

There were hundreds of thin, dusty packages lining the walls- Lily suspected that they held wands.

"Good afternoon, Ms. McGonagall. Who are these? First years at Hogwarts I presume?"

"Yes," she gestured toward each student, and gave his or her name.

"Let's start with you, Miss Evans. Which is your wand arm?"

"Um, I'm right handed," she said unsurely.

"Well then, that would be your wand hand, wouldn't it? Let me take some measurements."

"Measurements?" It was the second time Lily had had to take measurements for something today. Didn't they just have sizes here? Or maybe wands could be 'one size fits all.' How wrong she was.

"You have long fingers, Miss Evans," commented Mr. Ollivander in his lilting, mystical voice.

"Thank you," replied Lily awkwardly.

"Let's get started then." Mr. Ollivander pulled down one of the narrow, dusty boxes and opened it. "Let's try this one: maple, 11 inches, unicorn hair core. Give it a wave."

Lily waved, and felt utterly ridiculous. Nothing happened. 'Maybe I'm not really a witch…' she thought nervously.

"Hmm…well, let's get you another. First wand you try is never the one that chooses you."

"Um, sir? Did you just say the wand _chooses_ you?" asked Emmeline, suddenly.

"Yes, Miss Vance. Each wand is different, and needs a different owner. It chooses the witch or wizard that it is comfortable with."

He handed Lily another. "Ash, 12 inches, phoenix core."

Lily waved it, but nothing extraordinary occurred. Mr. Ollivander handed her several more before she was chosen by a wand made of willow, 10 and ¾ inches, dragon's heart string core. The wand had grown warm and given her little thrills up her arm as she waved it. Sparks flew out, and she had paid Mr. Ollivander gratefully. After the others had gotten their wands, Professor McGonagall took them home, by this method called "floo powder." Lily and the others found it most unpleasant, but it was quick.

At precisely 5 o'clock, Lily was home. Her astonished parents only managed to sputter, "Why, hello, darling," when Professor McGonagall came sweeping out of the hearth, dusting her robes. "Evening, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Your daughter has all her supplies, and now all she must do is report to King's Cross Station at platform 9 and ¾. It would be wise to be there at 10:30, as it takes time to get seated and together on a train full of students. The train leaves at 11. You have your ticket. Any questions?"

"Just where exactly is platform 9 and ¾, Professor?" asked Mr. Evans.

"The barrier between platform 9 and platform 10 takes you there. All your daughter has to do is walk through the barrier. It allows wizards, and witches, through. You'll see," she said, tiredly explaining for the fourth time that day.

"Thank you," responded Mr. and Mrs. Evans, "And thank you for bringing Lily home."

"You're welcome. I must go. I'll see you on September 1st." With a swish of her bottle green cloak, Professor Minerva McGonagall disappeared.

"So, did you enjoy yourself, Dear?" asked Mrs. Evans, tentatively, looking as if she thought that at any moment, Lily would disappear as well.


	3. Aboard the Hogwarts Express and the Sort

Ch. 2 Aboard the Hogwarts Express and the Sorting Hat

Lily thought September 1st could not arrive soon enough. Petunia, ever since she had heard "Lily's news," had been outdoing herself when it came to unpleasance. She constantly called Lily, "freak of nature" when she thought her parents' backs were turned, and she repeated constantly to Lily that if she kept burning peoples' breakfasts, no one would want to be her friend, to which Lily simply responded, "That's why it's called toast." To which, Petunia could only roll her eyes.

On the morning of September 1st, Lily jumped out of her bed, and ran downstairs, to see if her parents were up. Sure enough, her mother was already in the kitchen, cooking up a storm.

"Morning, Mum!" greeted Lily cheerfully. "What are you cooking?"

"Muffins, bacon, eggs. It's your last meal home."

"Smells great."

"I can't believe we're not going to be seeing you until Christmas."

"I'll write- I'll be back before you know it," said Lily, for the first time feeling a trifle nervous about the whole thing.

"I hope not," drawled out, Petunia, as she trudged down the stairs groggily.

"Petunia! It's your sister's last day here until Christmas! Don't you want her to remember the good things about you ?" reprimanded Mrs. Evans.

Fortunately for Petunia, Mr. Evans was walking in as Mrs. Evans questioned her, and she thus avoided the question. "What's cooking, Good Looking?" asked Mr. Evans, as he planted a kiss on his wife cheek.

Lily smiled. "Morning, Daddy."

"Morning, Angel. Excited about school?"

"YES."

Mrs. Evans served breakfast, and the family shared one last breakfast as a whole before Lily unceremoniously ran from the room saying something about some last minute packing.

A few hours, and several miles later, Lily Evans was standing where Platform 9 and 10 were divided. She kissed and hugged her parents good-bye; she even gave Petunia a hug. Then, she ran through the barrier, straightening her shoulders and holding her head high. 'Here goes nothing.'

The first thing Lily noticed about Platform 9 and ¾ was that the train itself was crimson. The second thing she noticed, or rather, felt was something running into her. She turned around, about to apologize, when she realized it was that maddening boy, (wasn't his name Potter?).

"Hey, Firehead."

"Go away, Spikey."

"Good job!" he said, his face breaking into a, if it was even possible, more infuriating grin. "I haven't heard that insult before! I sound like a weapon!"

"I'm not even going there," said Lily, rolling her eyes. Just then, she saw Emmeline, and turned back to her bag, when she realized it was gone. She looked at James, and barely saw him, sprinting towards the train. Glancing toward Emmeline, she ran. And Emmeline followed. Just as Lily was boarding the train, she saw the round-faced blonde girl she had seen at Madame Malkins'. So she decided to ask her. "Did you see a thin boy w/ messy black hair run by here perchance?"

"Are you talking about the boy carrying _two_ trunks?" responded the girl curiously.

"That would be him. Which way did he go?" asked Lily breathlessly.

"He stole her trunk," added Emmeline for clarification on Lily's intents.

"Oh! Of course- I see. He went into that compartment, with both trunks. He really should have put them in the baggage compartment. I thought it was odd. I see why now."

"Thanks so much- uh- what's your name?" said Lily.

"Alice. What's yours?"

"Lily."

"And I'm Emmeline. Call me Em if you like."

"I think we need a plan," began Lily thoughtfully.

"We could just walk in and take it," pointed out Emmeline, "But that wouldn't be as much fun," she added with a grin. That being said, the girls found a compartment and began discussing the issue.

"Well," began Alice, "If we had a diversion, and one person operated the diversion, the other person could run into the compartment and grab the trunk."

"Brilliant," said Lily, brows furrowed in thought, "They don't know you, Alice, so he wouldn't be suspicious if you peaked into the compartment, asking if they, (because there's probably more than one), could help you get your trunk out of the baggage compartment."

"You could lay it on thick with, 'you strong boys' and 'I'm not able to lift it because I'm a girl' nonsense boys always lap up," suggested Emmeline with a devious smirk on her face.

"Sure, that'll be fun to do," winked Alice.

Meanwhile, when James had run into the first empty compartment he caught sight of, he had shut the door, and sat down, not really knowing what to do next. He wasn't really sure why he had just stolen the redhead's trunk, but it had been just too tempting when she had looked away. And she needed a little back for calling him "Spikey." A few minutes later, another boy cracked open the door. He seemed to be in an argument with someone, by the sound, a girl.

"I don't want to sit with you, Trix. Leave me alone," the boy had said, almost growling.

"Well, don't blame me if you have to sit with some dirty Mudblood," the girl, James assumed must be Trix.

"Oh shut it and leave me alone," he said, and with that shut the door and sat down. He looked up and said, "Mind if I sit here?" to James, as though James might think that he was something nasty if he did.

"No." answered James, wondering what kind of life the boy had lived after what he had just heard from 'Trix.' James stood up, and said, "Name's Potter. James Potter. What's yours?"

"Black. Sirius Black. Named after a ruddy constellation. My whole family's mad," Sirius looked up for the first time, "That girl you probably overheard me talking to is my cousin. Bellatrix Black. She's bad news."

"Black, eh? As in the 'Most Ancient and Noble House of Black?" asked James incredulously.

"That'd be it. Mind you, I'm not proud of it. My whole family is obsessed with blood purity and upholding the family 'honor.'" Sirius said bitterly. "Everyone in the family thinks I'm nutters."

"Nah- you're just the '_black_ sheep' of the family. No pun intended," laughed James, trying to lighten up the boy's mood.

Sirius laughed a bark-like laugh. "Just watch me not get into Slytherin like the rest of them." He saw James' eyebrows raise. "Yeah, they're all Slytherins. But it figures, doesn't it?"

"Well, mate, just 'cause they're that way doesn't mean you have to be. I want to be sorted into Gryffindor."

"Yeah- that wouldn't be bad. They're all expecting me to mess up. Getting sorted into Gryffindor, hanging out with someone with the last name Potter- might as well go whole hog."

Just then, a pale, exhausted boy opened the door and asked, "Alright if I sit here?"

"Sure," the other two boys replied.

"Remus Lupin," the new boy said with a smile.

"Sirius Black."

"James Potter."

Before more could be said, two other boys ushered in, looking slightly flustered. "The rest are full. Mind if we—"

"Go right ahead," said James, with a grin on his face.

"Peter Pettigrew," said the short, blonde one.

"Frank Longbottom," said the taller one, with straight brown hair.

James decided to introduce everyone there and then, or introductions could possibly last all day. "I'm James Potter, that boy there, with the black hair is Sirius Black, and the other whom you don't know yet is Remus Lupin."

The boys sat in awkward silence, until, Remus broke it with, "So,what's your Quidditch team?" Which instantly started arguments about whose team was better and so on and so forth.

Just then, the girls were leaving their compartment to fulfill their mission: Mission Lily's Trunk. Alice knocked on the door of the compartment, and it slid open, revealing five boys who looked slightly put out. "Sorry to interrupt, but could you all help me get my trunk down? It's _so_ heavy, and I thought you _strong_ boys could move it," asked Alice in a soft, sweet voice.

All five boys jumped up, and James said, "Sure. Where is it?" Alice beckoned to them, and they followed her, feeling very manly. After the boys were off "helping Alice," Lily and Emmeline scampered into the compartment, and grabbed Lily's trunk, giggling all the while about how gullible boys were. Safely back into their own compartment, the girls waited for Alice to return.

Alice felt like laughing at the boys, who she could tell were feeling quite important. She nearly felt sorry for them, but not when Sirius said, "It's a good thing we were here. A girl like you probably couldn't lift much." Alice almost said, "Oh you'd be surprised what a girl like me could do," then she realized that she was right next to the place where she had stored her trunk.

"It's right here," announced Alice, gesturing to the compartment above their heads. Frank reached for it, and said, "It doesn't weigh _that_ much, guys. Here," he said, handing it to Alice, who forgot that she couldn't lift it, and held it quite capably.

"You said you couldn't carry it!" declared Peter, trying to understand why this was happening.

"Well, I guess I was wrong," shrugged Alice noncommitally. "Thanks for your help. I guess I'll see you later." And she walked off. But James wasn't satisfied with that.

"That was odd- let's see who she's sitting with," he realized suddenly what might just have happened. "But first, let's go back to our compartment."

They walked back to the compartment. "James! One of your trunks is gone!" cried Sirius, a bit worried that someone had stolen his new friend's trunk.

"I knew it!" exclaimed James. "It was a trap!"

"Wait- so that girl was just a ploy to get us out of here?" asked Remus, who was pretty quick.

"Why would she want to do that?" asked Peter, who was the opposite of Remus.

"Let's go find her," continued Sirius.

"You mean, them," corrected James with authority. "Look for a compartment with a redhead in it."

"Does this chick like you or something, James?" asked Sirius, his brown eyes glittering with mischief.

With a smirk on his face, James replied, "You could put it that way," and he opened the door to the suspect compartment.

Remus, ever the diplomat, began, "It seems that you have taken something that belongs to my friend, James Potter. Would you be so kind as to return it?"

"HIS TRUNK!" shouted Lily angrily. "HIS TRUNK MY ARSE! If you all had observed, it says, "Lily Evans" on it in gold letters."

"Oh, my apologies," said an astounded Remus, but to James he hissed, "Why didn't you tell us you stole the trunk?"

"We would have left a guard," added Sirius wisely.

"Like that would have saved you," snorted Lily furiously.

"One boy is no match for Private Evans and Private Vance," replied Emmeline saucily, tossing her long brown hair.

"You'll regret this, Firehead! Or should I say, _Evans_?" spat out James. She had just ruined his prank, and made him look like a fool.

"Oh no, I think it's you who will regret this, _Potter_," returned Lily.

"And you," said Sirius to Alice, who was shaking with laughter, "Are included on our hit list."

When Alice laughed at him, it didn't seem to dull his irritation.

"Now _get_ _out_ of here," said Lily, slowly but deliberately, her green eyes flashing dangerously.

"Okay," said Peter, starting to step back. But James stopped him, "Don't think this is the end, Evans, and you too, Vance. I don't even know you're name," he added, glaring at Alice.

"And you don't need to," returned Alice cheekily, a dimple appearing on her cheek.

"Now GET OUT RIGHT NOW!" shouted Emmeline. She was taller than Peter, who was right then cowering in fear behind Sirius, who was the tallest.

"C'mon, let's clear this joint," said James. "By the way, Evans, your trunk may have some surprises in it." And with a wink and devilish grin appearing on his face, he turned, followed by the rest of the boys.

When they had all gone, the girls sat down and congratulated each other.

"Way to deflate their egos, partners in crime!" said Emmeline proudly.

"Brilliant idea, girls. Don't you think, _Evans_?" said Alice, who had to tease Lily about what James called her.

"Very funny. Honestly, that boy doesn't know when to stop. He can make fun of my hair, but he shouldn't steal my things," stated Lily quite decisively.

"If I didn't know better, I would almost think that he had a crush on you, Lily," commented Emmeline with a smile.

"Ha! Imagine us trying to get along for more than 5 seconds. Very amusing, Em."

"So," said Alice as if changing the subject, "What house do you two want to be in?"

"House?" asked Lily and Emmeline blankly, waiting for Alice to clarify herself.

"You two don't know about the four Hogwarts houses?" asked Alice.

"We are muggleborn, you know," Lily reminded Alice.

"We'll probably not know well-known facts," said Emmeline, with a sigh.

"Oh- don't worry about it. You won't be too far behind. You two are smart. So do you want to hear about the four houses?"

"Yes!"

"Okay. Well, there's Gryffindor, that's where the brave ones get sorted. Then there's Ravenclaw for the clever, Hufflepuff for the loyal and hard-working, and Slytherin for the resourceful and ambitious. The first three will accept all different kinds of witches and wizards, but Slytherin only accepts purebloods and half-bloods. I want to be sorted into Gryffindor- my parents were, you see," explained Alice.

"I don't care where they put me, as long as it's not Slytherin," said Emmeline.

"Same- except, do people in the same houses have classes together?" asked Lily, with a shrewd look on her face.

"Yes, and dorms, and sit at the same table," replied Alice.

"Well then, I hope James Potter and I are in different houses."

"And some say Hufflepuffs are 'duffers,' but if I got sorted into it, I wouldn't mind," added Alice, feeling that she must educate her friends on all information she knew.

"Aren't they the loyal and hard-working? What's so bad about that?" asked Emmeline with a confused expression on her face.

"I guess people think they're pushovers."

"Well, I want to be in Gryffindor," declared Lily.

"Gryffindor or Ravenclaw sounds good," agreed Emmeline.

At that moment, an older witch stuck her head into their compartment. "You all need to get changed into your school uniform right now. We're due at Hogwarts very soon."

After she had departed, the three girls opened their trunks to get their robes out. Lily gasped. She had forgotten what Potter had said about "surprises." "Potter is going to die." She didn't say this in an emotional tone, she said it as if it were a fact that could be found in an encyclopedia, only witches and wizards didn't have encyclopedias.

The girls looked over at Lily. Then they saw it. The whole inside of the top was covered in "James is bloody awesome," and "Potter for President," and "James rocks my socks off." And it wouldn't come off.

"Don't worry, Lily, we'll make him pay," said Emmeline conspiratorially.

"It's too bad we don't like them," said Alice, "Because the one with straight, brown hair was cute. And I think he thought I was cute too."

"Honestly, Alice! At a time like this, you're thinking about how cute a boy is?" Lily could not believe this.

"Don't worry, Lily. I am completely on your side. But he _did_ get my trunk down, and he wasn't really doing anything wrong."

"True. It was all James, with support from the tallest one," commented Emmeline.

Before the girls could say anymore, the train stopped. The girls had been too busy talking, but now, they noticed that there was a huge lake, and distantly, a majestic stone castle.

The girls closed their trunks, and opened the door to their compartment. The aisle was very crowded, since everyone else was just as anxious to get out of the train as they were. When they finally got out, they immediately saw a giant-like man with wild black hair, beckoning to them, shouting, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" The girls walked towards the towering figure, and waited for the rest of the first years to finish convening in the area by the man, who introduced himself as "Rubeus Hagrid, Gamekeeper and Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts." He told them to board small boats anchored to the shore of the lake. The three girls took one, and when everyone was situated, though not by any means comfortably, Hagrid untied all the boats and, as if propelled by magic (and they probably were), the boats sailed smoothly towards the castle.

The first years arrived safely to the shore, and soon found themselves in the magnificent castle that would be their home for seven years. But the first years were not thinking of those seven years. They were dwelling on what was imminent and inescapable: the Sorting.

Lily recognized Professor McGonagall, and realized that she was approaching them. Her very presence seemed to switch off the volume the students had been creating a second earlier.

"In just a few minutes, you will be sorted into one of Hogwarts' four different houses. These houses will be like your families while you are here for the next seven years. Each is extraordinary in its own way, and I hope you will be a merit to which ever one you are sorted into. You may want to tidy yourselves up a bit," she said, eyeing James' hair, which as usual, gave the appearance of having braved a bad electric storm.

"How do we get sorted into the different houses if nobody really knows what kind of a person each of us is?" asked Lily, who was twisting a piece of hair out of anxiety for what was to come.

"My father said something about this talking hat, that can read your mind," said Alice, who looked quite nervous herself.

"Do we do it in front of the entire school?" wondered Emmeline aloud.

As if in answer to her question, the girls turned around to see Sirius saying, "So you put this ugly, patched hat on, and it tells you what house you'll be in, and shouts it out to the entire school. Then, you go to that house's table. At least, that's what my cousin Bellatrix said. But you can never be completely sure with her."

"That's not what my dad said!" said James. "I should have known he was joking when he said we had to drink Veritaserum potion while Professor Dumbledore asked us embarrassing questions in front of the entire student body."

"I don't even want to think about what I would have said," murmured Remus.

"Yeah- that would be really embarrassing. Don't know if I could ever show my face again," laughed Sirius shakily, who seemed to have grown jumpier as each minute brought them closer to being sorted.

Luckily, the students were to be in suspense no longer. Professor McGonagall gestured to them with her hand, and led them into an enormous room.

"This must be the Great Hall," whispered Alice to Lily and Emmeline.

Then, everyone hushed. A tall, ageless wizard with a long, silver beard spoke. "Good evening. Welcome to Hogwarts, both old and new. I have nothing more to say at this moment, except- let the Sorting begin!"

Everyone's attention veered from the wizard to a very old, frayed hat. Suddenly, it started singing. It's song described each house, validating what Alice had said earlier aboard the Hogwarts Express. After it finished its song, it began calling names of first years.

"Abbot, Andrew!" Andrew walked timidly towards the hat, which covered his head completely. A few seconds later, the hat was shouting, "HUFFLEPUFF!" and Andrew walked, more quickly this time, toward the Hufflepuff table, amid lots of cheering from his new house.

"Black, Andromeda!" A girl with strawberry hair was soon sorted into "RAVENCLAW!"

"Black, Sirius!" Sirius walked forward, very deliberately, as if to prove to himself that he wasn't afraid. He placed the Sorting hat on his head, and heard it say, "Ah, another Black. The 'Black Sheep,' are you? Not like the rest? I see you're very smart, very brave, I daresay- extremely reckless. Lot's of loyalty, too. I don't see much ambition, some resourcefulness. Yes, I know- you don't care about blood purity. Well, it's quite obvious that you should be in "GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius looked very relieved. He grinned at the cheering Gryffindor table. Then, he looked back at the Slytherin table. They seemed an unpleasant lot. He saw Bellatrix glaring at him under heavy-lidded eyes. But he just smirked at her, at which she narrowed her eyes. Although he was going to get heck for being in Slytherin's nemesis Gryffindor, it was worth it. He had never gotten along with his family- and they were all Slytherins. So why would things change now?

It was about to be Lily's turn to be sorted. Calm? Collected? Definitely not. She kept saying, "What if we don't get into the same house? What if I shouldn't be here at all? What if I don't belong in any of them? What if—" she began, but "Evans, Lily" was called out before she could finish. Emmeline and Alice nudged her towards the hat, and Lily walked trancelike forward. She put it on, and "Well, you're quite complicated. But I'm sure you realized that. Very smart, very loyal and kind-hearted. And very brave. I can see you're willing to take risks. Yes, even though your very smart, I can see that you would go with your gut before reason. Very well, I can see that you're meant to be in "GRYFFINDOR!" Lily, who had not realized she had been holding her breath, let it out, and walked back with her head held high toward the excited Gryffindors.

Several more students were sorted, and the next person to be sorted was "Longbottom, Frank." After about 30 seconds, he was sorted into "GRYFFINDOR!" Then it was "Lupin, Remus." Remus walked slowly towards the hat, and put it on carefully. The voice began, "A werewolf, eh? Very interesting. You've been through quite a bit, very brave and smart, aren't you? Ah, I see you wish to be with your new friends. Very well, better be "GRYFFINDOR!"

Remus walked happily towards the welcoming Gryffindors, who pulled out a chair for him and gave him a hardy pat on the back.

"Macmillan, Earnest!" Earnest became a "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Several students more, Peter wasn't doing too well. He was quite overcome with trembling, and when he thought about not being in the same house as those he knew, well, he didn't know what he'd do. "Pettigrew, Peter!" And Peter found himself walking toward the Sorting Hat. When he had put it on (with trembling hands), he heard it say, "Quite a bit of ambition I see, but you lack the resourcefulness, or pureness in blood that Slytherin admired. Not extremely intelligent, but not completely bereft of brains either. Loyal? I don't think so. Well, I see that you also want to be sorted with your new friends. So you'll be in "GRYFFINDOR!" Peter was over-joyed. He practically ran towards Sirius, Remus, and Frank. He flung himself on a chair at the Gryffindor table, not even noticing that "Potter, James" was walking up to the Sorting Hat next until Remus, Sirius, and Frank silenced his excited chatter.

James swaggered confidently towards the Sorting Hat. Sure, he was nervous. But he had a feeling that he was a Gryffindor. No one needed to remind him of what a reckless, impetuous boy he was. He put on the hat, and waited to hear its reply. "So you think you're a Gryffindor? Certainly enough nerve and bravery. You need to work on the chivalry. You're quite intelligent, but I don't think the thirst for knowledge is the key of your existence. Loyal, no doubt. Hard-working- not particularly. Resourceful, yes. Ambitious, yes. I daresay, you would fit into Slytherin, as well as Gryffindor. Eh? Not Slytherin? Ah, I see. They're not all that bad, you know. But your friends. Yes. I see. Godric would be pleased that his heir couldn't be persuaded to be a Slytherin. You didn't know you were? Of course not. Silly me. Go on and join "GRYFFINDOR!" James couldn't believe it. He was Gryffindor's heir? How—amazing. He had never known. And he had nearly been sorted into Slytherin. He shivered slightly, but smiled when his friends welcomed him with open arms. They didn't even hear Alice's name called.

Alice was shivering with excitement. The time had come at last when her true character would be revealed. Which house would she be in? She placed the hat on her head and listened intently to what her "fate decider" was saying. "Quite bright, very loyal, resourceful even, and a little daredevil. Seeking knowledge isn't your first priority, you are not particularly ambitious either. So you'll have to be in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Very tricky, very tricky. What? You want to be in Gryffindor? Well, then, that speeds things along. "GRYFFINDOR!" Alice beamed at everyone as she walked towards the applauding Gryffindors. She went over to Lily, and sat down; both were waiting with bated breath for Emmeline to be sorted.

"Snape, Severus!' A round-shouldered, sallow boy with straggly, greasy black hair soon was joining the "SLYTHERIN!" table.

"Tonks, Ted!" A boy with curly, chestnut hair was sorted into "RAVENCLAW!"

After many more first years had been sorted, Emmeline heard her name called. With a last glance towards her friend's encouraging faces and thumbs up, she strode forward purposefully to the Sorting Hat. "Oh good, another muggleborn. So that rules out Slytherin. You aren't really an academic person, are you? So that rules out hard-working Hufflepuff, and knowledge- seeking Ravenclaw. So you'll be in "GRYFFINDOR!" Finally, she was sorted. As relief washed over her, Emmeline was nearly skipping toward the Gryffindor table, and her friends. They all hugged- very glad that they were all sorted at last.

A few others were sorted, and then, Dumbledore stood up. "Just a few, well-chosen words. Eat. Up." With a smile, he sat down, signaling everyone to begin.

The golden plates in the center of the table filled up with delicious-looking food, of which students served themselves family-style.

"Blimey! Look at all this grub!" exclaimed Sirius, in ecstasy, and with his mouth full.

"Seriously!" agreed James, packing his plate until it nearly reached his chest when he bent over.

"It tastes good too. And I see you're doing more than looking," teased Remus as he served himself some fish.

"It's better than my mother's," commented Frank with a wry smile. "Her intentions are good, but her cooking isn't." At this, they all chuckled.

Meanwhile, the girls were also enjoying the scrumptious meal.

"I didn't realize I was so hungry!" exclaimed Alice.

"I knew we should have had something on the train!" Lily said.

"It was because of you we didn't, Lily. Remember? We missed the trolley because we were doing "Mission Lily's Trunk," Said Emmeline.

"Oh, you're right. My bad," smiled Lily at her forgetfulness.

"Well, your friend Potter and his mates all seem to have gotten into the same house also. Funny how that happens, huh?" commented Emmeline.

"Oh, great," replied Lily, with her eyes to the sky. 'THE SKY?' thought Lily. "We're inside, so how come we can see the sky?"

"It's enchanted," responded Alice. "My mother told me," she added when she saw their looks of 'how do you know?'

Lily looked across the table and smiled at two girls, whom she recognized as first years.

"Hello," said one of them cheerily, "My name is Marlene McKinnon, "What's yours?"

"Lily Evans. Nice to meet you Marlene."

"I'm Dorcas Meadowes," said the other, who seemed quieter. Lily smiled at her in acquiescence.

As dinner ended, the tall man tapped his spoon to his glass, and the entire room grew quiet, except for a few whispers and giggles.

"Now that we have all filled our bellies, I have a few announcements to make. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Albus Dumbledore. Professor Dumbledore to you," he added, his bright blue eyes twinkling behind crescent moon spectacles. "The Forbidden Forest is quite forbidden to all students, and we have a new caretaker, Mr. Argus Filch. He has made a list of forbidden activities that you can all take a look at on the door of his office." His eyes glimmered at this. "Now, all of you are dismissed to your dormitories. Tomorrow, classes resume, so it would be wise to get a good night's rest." His eye lingered on some 7th year Gryffindors, as he sat down again.

Lily, Alice, and Emmeline followed several older-looking students along with other Gryffindors.

"So many staircases and corridors," whispered Emmeline, wide-eyed.

"I know," said Alice, "How will we ever learn them all?"

"I plan to find out tonight," said another voice suddenly. The girls turned around to discover the five boys behind them.

"I'm going to sleep," yawned Lily, her green eyes fluttering with sleepiness.

"Did you like your trunk, Evans?" inquired James mischievously.

Lily replied innocently, "Quite clever, Potter. What charm did you use?"

"The graffita charm. Wait! I wasn't supposed to tell you!" exclaimed James, horrified.

"But you did, Potter. You did," said Lily, with a devious smile on her face.

"Nice one, Lils," said Emmeline.

"Thanks," she turned to James, "They say honeyed words win you more than bitter ones."

"Hm, I'll use that for future reference," murmured Sirius, who actually seemed to find the situation a little amusing.

"Well, won't fall for that again," said James, shaking himself. "I have to admit, Evans, you've got some pretty good comebacks up your sleeve."

"Why, was that a compliment?" asked Lily, pretend shock written all over her face.

"I do believe it was, _Evans_," replied Alice, winking roguishly at Lily, knowing that being referred to as "Evans" annoyed to her.

"We're here," declared Remus, who had merely watched his friend make a fool of himself.

They all stepped into a magnificent room, covered in scarlet and gold: Gryffindor's colors. They all breathed in awe. Then, the older students, called prefects, directed them towards their new dormitories. The girls went up one staircase, and the boys up another.

When the girls reached their rooms, they found their trunks had already been placed by their red, four-poster beds. It turned out that all the first year girls shared a dorm. They all undressed and got ready for bed. Most collapsed into bed. They were "home" at last.

The boys also went to sleep soon, despite what James had said about exploring. But Sirius couldn't resist commenting, as they got into their beds, "James, you certainly seem to make an arse of yourself whenever you talk to Lily Evans." James just rolled over and pretended to be asleep.


	4. Four Years Later

A/N: **I changed the Muggleborn to Ted Tonks those of you who read this before I changed it.** Ia also added Andromeda Black, b/c I imagine her to be in the Marauder's grade, while Bellatrix is a year ahead, and Narcissa is one year ahead.

EXPLAINING: Those first few chapters were to introduce the characters, but now, Lily and James are on their first day back from the summer, in their **fifth** year. I'm going to be writing this fic up to the end of the seventh year, then maybe an epilogue w/ baby Harry. Read and review _please_- it really does encourage me to write more. **_PhoenixPlume_**

Thanks for the reviews, MissChievousHP, Blink182rox, sumrandumperson, Aevum, Fiddlegirl, Firefly Phoenix, guy()! Y'all made me want to write sooner!

Ch. 3 Four Years Later

Sun streaked through the windows of the fifth year Gryffindor girls' dorm, but one red bedhead burrowed further into her pillow. Then, she heard someone groan, and climb out of bed. Lily suspected the person was Alice, who was the earliest riser in their dorm. Lily covered her head to keep from hearing the unwelcome noise of the turning on of the shower faucet. She heard another girl, straggle out of bed. 'Must be Marlene. She always tries to hog the other shower."

According to Lily's mind, it was only a few minutes later, when she felt Emmeline, her morning alarm, shaking her to get up. "One more minute," grumbled Lily, who loved her sleep dearly. "There's only 15 minutes until breakfast!" shouted Emmeline, who had the uncanny talent to talk, pardon me, SHOUT, into Lily's ear.

"I'm getting up, k? I don't have to rise at the crack of dawn like you because, unlike you, I took a shower last night," said Lily grouchily.

"Yes, but you know you _have_ to wash your face in the morning. And you _have_ to do your hair. _And_ you have to get dressed and put on makeup. Remember last year; how we didn't get you up in time to do your hair and makeup all pretty? You got MAD, Lils. So RISE AND SHINE!"

"Okay, okay," relented Lily, and dragged herself groggily out of her warm, soft bed. She noticed that all the others had gotten up, and were somewhere along the way in their morning rituals. Lily sighed, and went into the bathroom to wash her face.

Much the same thing was happening in the boy's dorm. James, who was the epitome of the term "morning person," was already dressed and ready to go. As usual, he dumped water on Sirius and blew in Peter's ear (who promptly sat up). Frank and Remus always got up as soon as they heard James start his shower. Unfortunately, that meant they could hear James' atrocious voice making a distorted noise he claimed was music. But they both knew better than to believe that.

Sirius, much like Lily, was not a morning person. He slept through everything, except water. It had taken a long time for James to discover this, but when he had in 2nd year, it had proven a reliable method ever since.

The Great Hall was rowdy and full of wandering students, because everyone wanted to catch up with their friends about their summers. Lily, Alice, and Emmeline, who had remained friends since their first year, sat down at the Gryffindor table, and began discussing their classes.

"What's up first today?" asked Lily, in between sips of orange juice.

"Transfiguration," replied Alice, who seemed to be searching for someone.

"Are you looking for someone, Alice?" asked Emmeline slyly.

"What? Maybe," said Alice with a mischievous smile.

"Why are you looking at the Ravenclaw table?" asked Lily.

"I bet she's looking at a certain Frank Longbottom, who is sitting with his Ravenclaw friends," replied Emmeline, laughing as Alice blushed.

"Well, he's just so nice! And smart," added Alice, "He even offered to help me in Charms."

"That is _so_ obvious, Alice. Like you _need_ tutorials from him when one of your best friends," Emmeline jerked her head toward Lily, "is the best in our year in Charms."

"I think Alice is trying to charm Frank," commented Lily teasingly.

Everyone always noticed when James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter entered the Great Hall. They usually were arguing or laughing loudly- or else they were walking in with devious expressions on their faces. Then not only did everyone notice; they were wary of anything they touched that day.

The Marauders walked towards the Gryffindor table, all-too-aware of the attention being showered upon them by the female population. James, with his trademark, conceited grin, sat down next to Marlene McKinnon, who he had decided seemed sufficiently enamored by him that bright morning. Starstruck, Marlene said, "Good morning, James. How was your summer?"

"I got to see England play Italy. How was yours?" replied James suavely.

"Pretty good. Nothing so interesting as yours. But my real worry is- I'm not exactly ready for Transfiguration, which is first today," she said, sighing heavily in defeat.

"Oh, well, I can help you! Transfiguration is my best subject. I'm the best in our year," he added arrogantly, as he ran his hand through his hair.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Marauders, who had sat next to James, were shoveling food in their mouths like there was no tomorrow. "Transfigewason fuss peerwod," announced Sirius, through a mouth of food.

"Black," said Lily crisply, who was nearby ('unfortunately,' she thought to herself) "The rest of the student body doesn't want to see what's behind your esophagus."

"Whah?" asked Sirius, unaware of what she meant.

"Fine. I'll say it in smaller words that you can understand. DON'T TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL! IT'S DISGUSTING!"

Remus smiled at her wryly, "Thanks for saying what the rest of us wanted to say, Lily." Remus was the only Marauder Lily and her friends was actually on first name basis with.

"HEY!" sputtered Sirius. "I'm not as bad as Peter!" The said person's ears grew red.

Emmeline rolled her eyes, and turned to Lily and Alice. "This is why I don't want a boyfriend, ALICE!" Alice had gone back to searching for Frank.

"Oh, sorry," stammered Alice.

Lily helped her out with, "We'd better start walking over to Transfiguration. It starts in about ten minutes." She got up, and the others, nodding, followed.

Seeing Lily, his favorite target of pranks, James decided to start walking to Transfiguration also, with promises to Marlene to meet her later, with what he called his "charming" smile- which quickly morphed into a devilish smirk.

"GOOD MORNING, EVANS!" he shouted out jovially, purposefully "accidentally" colliding into "Evans."

As the whole school looked on, Lily, not at all non-plused, merely replied sarcastically, "Wotcher, Potter. Wouldn't want you to break something, since you seem so apt at knocking yourself into me." At which, the school tittered.

"I just knew you wouldn't want to miss any physical contact with me, Evans," responded James smoothly, his mouth curling into an exasperating grin. Every boy in the Great Hall started doubling over with laughter at the idea of Lily wanting any contact at all with James. It was a well known fact that disaster ensued every time the two came within speaking distance.

"Oh, _silly_ me! That _must_ be it! Wouldn't want to miss nearly falling flat on my _face _THIS YEAR!" Lily answered back, her green eyes standing out like emeralds in the fair background of her face.

"You wouldn't fall, well, except for _me_, of course," triumphed James. This remark also gained him some guffaws from boys, especially the Marauders, who were applauding (except for Remus who knew better than to get on Lily's bad side).

"You may not have noticed this, Potter, because your tiny brain probably rolls around in that swollen head of yours, but- YOU'RE ALMOST A FOOT TALLER THAN I AM! So don't go swaggering into me again. Or you'll find that you're head is going to be deflated faster than you can say 'Crikey.'"

"Getting a little _angry_ are we, Evans?" taunted James, to which Lily, simply said, "Oh, so you noticed that you don't exactly improve my mood, Potter? Congratulations!" and walked off, with her friends running after her, hoping to cool her temper down before class started.

"Today, we will be beginning turning fairly large, inanimate objects," she gestured toward the chairs standing all over the classroom, "into complicated animals, like so. You say the spell, 'Mor_phi_um Ani_mal_ium,' keeping in mind what animal you wish your object to be transfigured into. Try it," Professor McGonagall explained, returning to her desk, but occasionally looking up to see how the students were doing.

True to his words, James was very good at Transfiguration, and was the first to turn his chair into an animal- which in his case was a stag, for some reason. "Show off," muttered Lily under her breath. James smiled patronizingly at her, which he knew would get a rise out of her after all the things he had said to her that day. He was disappointed when she soon turned her chair into an animal also, only hers was a tiger. She then triumphantly said to him, "Tigers eat stags for food."

Not about to be beaten by Lily, James deftly transfigured her tiger into a kitten, which was easier since it had been a tiger before. Lily, who was still quite irritated about what had happened in the Great Hall, turned his stag into a mouse, although she wasn't quite as swift as James had been.

Professor McGonagall, who had been looking on as the two skillfully transfigured their first animals, was seething with fury when she realized, along with the rest of the class, what her two best students were doing. "Mr. Potter! Miss Evans! I have never seen such reckless loss-of-control! Detentions for both of you! TWO, if I see you do ANY more of this nonsense. See me after class."

Lily dazedly replied, "Yes ma'am," feeling quite disgraced. This was her second detention she had ever received all her time at Hogwarts. The other time, she recalled, had also involved Potter. How she despised him- and his gargantuan ego. The really infuriating thing was that all the other girls, excluding herself, Alice, and Emmeline, were drooling at his every glance and word.

James, on the other hand, was quite used to detention, and said, "Quite right, Professor," edging on the side of disrespect. Then he whispered to Lily, "Aren't you thrilled, Evans? More time you get to spend with yours truly."

"Stuff it, Potter," hissed Lily stoically.

"Don't pay attention to him, Lily. You know all he wants is for you to react," said Alice soothingly, while Lily gave James her deathly glare, which even he seemed a bit fazed by, as he suddenly turned towards Remus, who just shook his head.

After James and Lily had received a sound lecture and information on where to report to detention from Professor McGonagall, Lily and James walked in opposite directions (purposefully on Lily's part) with their waiting friends.

"You shouldn't get her so mad, you know, James," Remus reprimanded.

"It's a jolly good time, though," beamed James, like he had just had the best time of his life. "No one has such biting comebacks and flashing eyes. She's my challenge every day- gets my blood pumping."

"She's your death wish," said Sirius deeply. "I've seen her jinx Bellatrix, and it's not a pretty sight."

"And we all know what Bellatrix is like," added Remus darkly.

"She can actually take on Bellatrix?" asked Peter incredulously, as he was still trying to transfigure his chair. Alas, he was not succeeding.

"I wouldn't burn bridges, James," warned Remus, "You never know when you might actually want to be on good terms with Lily."

"Ha! Why would I need to be on good terms with _her_?" asked James with an amused expression.

"In case you haven't noticed, Jamesie, what the _rest_ of the male population _has_- Lily Evans is _absolutely_, drop-dead gorgeous. You seem to be attracted to her as it _is_."

"BECAUSE SHE'S FUN TO ANNOY!" rebutted James. "She's not bad," he added more lightly. "Her hair looks like it's on fire though."

"That is _so_ first year, James," responded Sirius, with his bark-like laugh.

"Where we going next, Remus?" asked Peter nervously.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Remus, "And we're going the wrong way."

The boys turned hurriedly back in the direction Lily, Alice, and Emmeline had taken earlier.

The rest of the morning flew by, and before they knew it, it was lunchtime. Lily, Alice, and Emmeline ate quickly, since they were going to the library to read. And, in Lily's mind, hopefully escape James.

"You know, Lily," suggested Alice, "Maybe you should try ignoring him one day- like tonight for example- in detention."

"That might make him stop bugging you," agreed Emmeline. "I wonder why he likes to bother you so much…"

"You're right. I just can't deal with not getting the last word, I guess," smiled Lily. "He's such a prat."

They entered the library, and walked towards some couches in the back where they could rest comfortably while reading. It was too late when they realized some of their least favorite people were sitting there: the Slytherins. Slytherins, not usually very social, often came to the library to read and study during lunch. But the three Gryffindor girls had forgotten.

"Well, look whose here," drawled a black-haired girl with icy-blue eyes, thickly fringed with black lashes to match. "The two Mud-bloods and our most _celebrated_ Mud-blood lover."

"Shut your trap, Bellatrix," responded Emmeline coldly, straightening her majestic frame in defiance to the slighting word "Mud-blood"- the most insulting term one could call a muggle-born witch or wizard.

"Make me," replied Bellatrix in a baby voice.

"They're not even worth speaking to, Trixie," said a tall, harsh-looking Slytherin boy, named Rodolphus Lestrange.

"Oh- that's why you're talking to us, and in front of us," said Lily, tapping her head as if making fun of their lack of thought. "The mere acquiescence of our existence shows that you consider us equals. The only reason you really insult us is because you feel the need to belittle someone to feel yourself sufficient."

"You better shut up, Evans, or you'll realize just how much we hate your kind," responded an angry Lestrange.

"Oh, I think we'll survive," Lily hissed, "Let's go, girls. I really want to do something that's actually worthwhile during my free time."

"And if you ever, EVER, call my friends Mud-bloods again, you unworthy pieces of dung, you will be sorry you ever opened your mouths," warned Alice, who hardly ever got mad. The Slytherins were so aghast that sweet, inperturbable Alice had just threatened them. The girls turned, and went to the other side of the library, "I can't believe what you just did to those two over there, Alice," Lily said, astonished.

"If they ever do that again, they're the ones who're not going to believe what I'm going to do," replied Alice firmly.

"That's the first time I've ever seen anyone make a Slytherin shut their trap," breathed Emmeline. "Oh, great. Just what we don't need- Fathead is _studying_ with our roommate over on our sofa there."

"Ugh," Lily let out in frustration, "Why does my first day back at school have to stink so much?"

After dinner, during which James had felt he had to remind "Evans" of their detention together, the exhausted fifth year Gryffindors trudged towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. After muttering the password (Flitterbloom), they all sat down resignedly to do a backload of homework.

"I have so much to do!" complained Lily to Emmeline. "And detention! Thanks to bloody Potter!"

"Relax, Lily. We have an essay in Transfiguration- which won't be hard for you, since you've mastered the spell, from the display you and Potter put on today, and an essay in Defense against the Dark Arts. What else can you have?"

"I have to read about Celtic runes in Ancient Runes, and- that's it."

"Lily! That's not that bad. Calm down," said Alice steadily.

"Oy! Evans! If you need any help with Transfiguration, you know I'm the most proficient on the subject and am willing to give you a little time," said James conceitedly, running his hand through his hair. Something that annoyed Lily more than a little.

"James is quite a good teacher," chirruped Marlene sycophantically.

"I'm sure," Lily said sarcastically, "But I'm doing just fine in Transfiguration."

"Well, you got detention today," jumped in Sirius, his brown eyes twinkling mischievously.

"I'm not in the mood, Black," dismissed Lily shortly.

"Is someone having a bad day?" entreated Sirius in an "awww, poor baby" voice, as he put his arm around her.

This seemed to have gotten James' attention. "Lay off, Sirius. Your arm isn't making her any better. And I need her to be in fine form tonight," he added.

Remus, who was scribbling furiously at his Defense essay, looked up and he and Sirius exchanged knowing looks. Remus coughed something that sounded suspiciously like, "burning bridges…"

Emmeline fiercely removed Sirius' heavy arm, which was quite muscular because of his position as beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Ouch," Sirius flinched as she flung his arm off of Lily, "It's not like I was harming her. I was trying to make her feel better," he sniffed, although he really had wanted to see what James' reaction would be. It was his personal opinion that James was in denial about having a thing for Lily, although Lily obviously couldn't stand him.

"You weren't doing a very good job," retorted Emmeline.

Slowly, the Gryffindor common room drained of students, until Lily's and James' friends bid them farewell and good luck in detention. Lily stood up, stretching her weary limbs. She glanced back at James, whose eyes she felt boring into her neck. "Stop trying to bore a hole through my neck," she snapped.

"Oh, sorry," he muttered hastily, for the first time she had ever seen him, truly embarrassed. "Let's go, Filch will penalize us more if we're late," sighed James, standing up agilely.

The two Gryffindors traipsed along toward Filch's office, one dreading the detention more than the other.

When they got there, Filch was tapping his foot impatiently, and a nasty sneer appeared on his face when he saw the two adolescents walking in his direction. "Here, are you, you delinquents?" Lily was strongly reminded of what Petunia told her (Petunia's) friends back at home about her (Lily.) Petunia had told all of them that she went to a school for junior delinquents, and her friends were dense enough to believe what she said.

"Well, come on then, you'll be polishing the medals and awards in the Trophy Room," he informed them happily, "_Without_ magic." He didn't see James smile in the shadows at a looming object fluttering in the air in the distance.

Just then, there was a loud "bang," and cackle, and Filch began running at a break neck speed toward "PEEVES! I'LL GET YOU THIS TIME, PEEVES!" He turned toward the two students for a split-second, "Go on, and polish the trophies, I'll examine them to see if they're spotless. The polish and cloths are there already." With that, Filch ran after Peeves, shaking his fist in fury.

"Well, that was odd," commented Lily. "Maybe now, we can just do it by magic."

"My exact thoughts, Evans," agreed Potter. "But we'll have to stay for at least 30 minutes to look like we've worked."

"Right," acquiesced Lily, and strode resolutely toward the Trophy Room.

They quickly gave the trophies a much-needed polish, and sat down: they were both quite tired from their first day back.

"I guess this is your second detention ever? Right?" asked James, smiling amusedly at Lily's annoyed expression.

"And I have you to thank for both of them, Potter. I can't believe I'm having a detention on my first day back at school," she responded miserably.

"Yeah, it's got to be a record, Miss Perfect," James said sarcastically.

"I don't even want to think about it. So just bug off. You've made this day bad enough, Potter."

"Wow. I'm honored that I hold so much sway over how your day goes, Evans," remarked James, his eyes gleaming.

"Don't be so ego-centric, Potter. You weren't the only contributor to this unfathomable terrible day."

"Who else was there?" asked James, actually quite curious.

"Why should you care? It's not like you're my friend or anything," she replied tartly.

"I- because there's nothing else to talk about- and we're stuck here," he responded triumphantly.

"The Slytherins decided to—" Lily began.

"Be their usual, wonderful selves?" completed James knowingly.

"Yeah- you could say that. Well, Filch isn't back yet, and I'm tired. So let's just go," suggested Lily tiredly.

"Sure. But before we go, we need to take a little of the polish, and" he wiped it onto an old, ugly handkerchief that looked like its key purpose to existence was to serve as what James had just used it for, "put a little polish on both the rags. There," he said, rubbing his hands together.

"Okay—" said a surprised Lily, "Good idea. Let's go."

They turned off the light, and returned to the common room, where the fire was down to its last embers. Each went up the stairs to his or her dormitory and fell into bed, utterly spent. It had been a most demanding day.


	5. A First Time for Everything

Well, here is the fourth chapter! I hope you like it! You have no idea how much I'm enjoying writing it…

* * *

Ch. 4. A First Time for Everything

"Oh, James- you're so talented at Transfiguration!" gushed Marlene, batting her eyelashes as if there were no tomorrow.

"I'm talented at a lot of things besides Transfiguration," he responded in a deeper, debonair voice that Marlene seemed to find charming, since she giggled.

"Like what?" she asked obsequiously.

"Oh- like Transfiguration, Quidditch, making people's day, school in general, making friends, and pulling pranks," he bragged, adding the last thing with a roguish smile.

"You're certainly making _my_ day," she simpered.

"And you're certainly making _me_ sick," said Lily, who had been suffering through this disgusting display long enough. "Here I am, actually trying to finish my Potions essay, and all you two—" she broke off waving her hands around in frustration, "I thought you had a little more sense than that, Marlene. And you, Potter, are only getting worse every minute. So I'll just leave and go somewhere where I don't want to throw up." With that, she gathered her books.

"Afraid it's catching, Evans?" called back James, with a self-satisfied smile on his face.

"What's catching, Potter? Your incredibly swollen head? Or your over-inflated ego?" retorted Lily bitingly.

She bounded out of the room, nearly giving Emmeline a concussion as she exited the portrait hole.

"What's your hurry, Lils? It's Sunday- we don't have to go to classes," said a breathless Emmeline.

"Don't even go in there, those two are repulsive: Potter and Marlene," Lily said darkly. "Basically, all they talk about is Potter. Marlene just smiles and bats her eyelashes at anything that comes out of his mouth. I think I actually saw her giggle when he yawned. Absolutely nauseating."

"Oh, you poor thing," said Emmeline, with a trace of a smile, but patting her friend on the back just the same, "We'll go to the library where you won't feel the need to vomit."

Oh, you have _no_ idea, Em! That conversation had been going on for a solid fifteen minutes. The first ten I endured, but the last five were just too much."

"Where's Alice?" asked Emmeline suddenly. "I haven't seen her all morning."

"You know how she is; she gets up at a ghastly hour in the morning, and goes off to the library, where she sits with Frank and Ted Tonks."

"Maybe we should go sit with them," suggested Emmeline, her gray eyes twinkling impishly.

"And help them with Charms?" jibed Lily, playing along.

"Definitely," agreed Emmeline, and the two friends strolled towards the library, laughing the whole way.

* * *

Meanwhile, James had lost interest in Marlene as soon as his audience had departed, and made excuses about five minutes later that he needed to practice Quidditch for the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw game tomorrow.

James climbed up the stairs to the fifth year boys' dormitory, to find Sirius and Remus talking quietly in a corner of the room. It appeared that they didn't want James to know what they were discussing, since they had abruptly stopped speaking when James arrived.

"What's up?" inquired James suspiciously, "Are you all not including me in a prank you're planning?"

"No- we were actually discussing something fairly intelligent," replied Sirius, with a gleam in his warm, brown eyes.

"Intelligent?" snorted Remus. "You call James's denial of liking Lily intelligent. I would call it a lot of things, but intelligent isn't exactly something that comes to mind, Sirius."

"It's intelligent not to want to like Lily Evans," said Sirius swiftly, "especially James, since she can hardly stand being in the same room he's in."

"How did you know she just stalked out of the common room?" asked James incredulously.

"We were THERE, James," responded Remus. "Apparently, you were too busy watching _Lily's_ reaction to what you were saying to Marlene to notice that TWO of your best mates were in the same room as you were! We left a minute after Lily did."

"What Look! I don't like Evans- alright? I don't. We don't get along! We never have, and NEVER will. I just like getting a rise out of her! That's all!" protested James, whose voice steadily grew in volume as he spoke.

"How long did you talk to Marlene after Evans left, Jamesie?" asked Sirius, with a gleeful expression.

"Uh, like five minutes. I really do need to go practice Quidditch, though. I don't feel that we practiced enough earlier with the rest of the team," James explained, seeing their raised eyebrows.

"That proves our point. You were only there to show off for Evans!" declared Sirius victoriously.

"You're in denial, James. You like Lily. Think about it," said Remus, as he left the dorm, shutting the door, "I'm going to go find Peter."

"Right, mate. You said something about practicing Quidditch?" asked Sirius, who knew James well enough to realize James had to mull over what he had just heard. James learned by arguing; and when he lost an argument, he had to re-gather his thoughts and try to understand the final result.

"Yeah," murmured James, "Let's go." They grabbed their brooms and headed for the Quidditch pitch.

While James had been in his dormitory, Lily and Emmeline had been annoying Alice.

* * *

"How's the study session going, Alice?" asked Lily innocently.

"I think we're seeing some improvement," replied Alice sweetly, but when Frank was looking away, she narrowed her eyes at her two friends.

"We'll sit with you," offered Emmeline, who looked like she was going to go into convulsions.

"I could definitely use some help in Charms," stated Lily, who couldn't help herself, and started giggling rather loudly.

"Could you two ladies _please_ leave," hissed the librarian, "There are people trying to _work_ in here!"

Alice stuck her tongue out at them, as her two friends walked out of the library.

After they had departed, Lily said, "You know- I still need to do this bloody Potions essay."

"Hm- well, I guess we could go back to the common room," replied Emmeline.

"Yeah- maybe Potter's gone by now," agreed Lily, as they walked toward the portrait of the fat lady.

"Parsnip," said Emmeline, and they entered the common room to discover that Lily's nemesis had indeed gone. "Well, what are you waiting for? Nose to the grindstone!"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" returned Lily, who began scribbling in small letters something about the multiple uses of dragons' blood.

* * *

It was a crisp, fall day, just fading into dusk. James and Sirius had both decided to practice flying, since James was a chaser and Sirius was a beater.

James took off into the air, his hair rippling behind him in the brisk, autumn wind. Quidditch always made him feel free and complete- until he remembered what his friends had said about him being in denial. About being in denial about Evans. Fiery Lily Evans. Lily Evans who always managed to do the impossible: remain his equal in wittiness and comebacks. Evans- whose green eyes flashed at him whenever she was angry or sarcastic. Evans…why hadn't he realized it before? She was the girl he thought of every day! Every morning he got up, planning on how to irritate her that day. Every night, dwelling on her reaction…And he had always thought she was beautiful—although he would never have admitted as much. He also loved how funny she was- how in first year she had come up with the nickname Spikey! And he also loved how clever she was. She had managed to find the counter-curse too many spells he had placed on her things; one way had been to pretend to be impressed with his handiwork, he recalled with a sheepish smile.

Yes, the unthinkable had occurred. He had fallen for her. Speaking of which, hadn't he always teased her about how the only thing she would fall for was him? He had been in denial all these years! The question was, did she realize what an honor had been bestowed upon her? Probably not. Not in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined being favored with the affection of such a brilliant, attractive, talented guy as himself. At this thought, he spiraled in the air, and dived down towards earth again.

"You certainly were up there for awhile, mate," commented Sirius observantly, who had apparently been cooling his heels for several minutes.

"Just doing some thinking. You know—Evans is a very lucky chick to be admired by yours truly," James declared with a smug grin. The two boys proceeded back to the castle, carrying the brooms casually slung over their shoulders.

"Yeah- I guess she is. Any girl favored by a Marauder is most blessed," acquiesced Sirius with a smirk appearing on the corners of his mouth. "When are you going to pop the question?"

"Well, the next Hogsmeade trip is in about a week and a half- right before Halloween," responded James, "I'll ask her if she wants to go with me- ah- let's say- tomorrow. After the Quidditch match we're bound to win. She'll be all over me, since everyone knows I'm the most valuable player on the Gryffindor team. For that matter, all of the teams."

"No. I am. Are you sure she won't be hanging all over me? The ladies adore me," boasted Sirius with an arrogant smile.

"In your dreams, Sirius," replied James, his hazel eyes glittering playfully.

"Yes- but are dreams real? Is reality just a dream?" demanded Sirius, in a pretend-philosophical tone.

The two boys had just made their entrance into the castle, when they were met by Peter and Remus.

"Have you all decided when you're going to practice transforming?" asked Remus, "Don't you have all the information you need?"

"Are you all sure this is a good idea?" piped up Peter nervously, "We could get expelled!"

"We could be sent to Azkaban," added Sirius nonchalantly, "But Remus needs a pack. And who could better fulfill that position than the Marauders?"

"And it's not like Sirius and I haven't researched everything thoroughly," agreed James authoritatively. "I can't wait to find out what kind of animal I am!"

"You're probably an ass," joked Sirius, punching James in the arm affectionately.

"You're probably a baboon," retorted James, hitting him back.

"I wonder what I will be?" wondered Peter out loud, biting his nails anxiously.

"Anyone want to guess what I am?" asked Remus, smiling grimly. They all looked at Remus sympathetically.

"Well, it won't be as bad with us there, Remus," James said, "That's what these three and a half years of research were for: to make being a wolf easier."

"But when are we practicing?" Peter demanded, repeating Remus' question to begin with.

"Ah, how about tonight?" asked Sirius.

"Yeah- tonight's good for me," consented James, "I wish we could tell people we are Animagi- I would LOVE to see Evans' face!"

"Ahem," coughed Sirius, "If you like her, you're not going to annoy her. She doesn't like that."

"Isn't that kind of obvious, James?" asked Remus, giving James a look.

"Wouldn't she be impressed?" asked Peter stupidly.

"Probably," smirked James, "But she never seems to like the idea that I can do something that she can't."

"But we aren't talking about Lily right now!" exclaimed Remus. "We're talking about what time to meet and where."

"How about we set off a round of dungbombs in the common room," suggested Sirius, grinning in delight at the idea.

"Brilliant!" said James, "But you, Remus, will have to watch all the entries and exits to make sure no one is coming."

"Definitely," Remus agreed.

"I think it's dinner time," offered Peter, who had been looking up at the clock for the past few minutes.

* * *

"Did you finish your essay, Evans?" asked James in what he considered a more pleasant, more mature voice.

"Yes, Potter. But no thanks to you," she glared at him, as she attempted to end their conversation by turning to Alice. Sirius gave James a pitying glance as he served himself a large piece of roast beef.

"Potions essay, wasn't it?" asked James innocently, "I could have helped you."

"I don't desire or need your help, Potter. Your _help_ makes me sick," she added icily.

"Are you still mad about this morning? Just because I have the opposite sex hanging all over me doesn't mean you have to be sore, Evans," he remarked, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Oh, that wasn't what I was sore about," she replied silkily, "What I was sore about is the fact that you're a repulsive, arrogant toadstool!"

"Well I can't help it if I'm better at Transfiguration than you are," he responded pointedly, thinking he understood what she was angry about.

"Transfiguration has nothing to do with it! See! All you think about is yourself! I bet you're just leading Marlene on until after Hogsmeade! Then, you're going to drop her like you do all the other girls you _flatter_ with your attentions!" cried Lily, who didn't like to see anyone she knew hurt.

"Well, how about if I drop her now, and ask _you_ to Hogsmeade?" James asked, ruffling his already-messy hair in the way Lily absolutely despised.

"What?" Lily sputtered, not believing what she had just heard. "Repeat that? I think I misunderstood what you just said."

"Go with me to Hogsmeade?" he repeated, with his "charming" smile and extra-deep voice.

"Are you sick? Because I think you've caught something, Potter." Lily had never, even in her worst nightmares, ever devised that Potter, her arch-enemy, would ask her out.

"I'm serious!" he said, starting to get a little irritated with her lack of enthusiasm.

"No, I am!" laughed Sirius, hoping to lighten up the mood. But neither of the two looked at him.

"You actually thought that I would want to spend my time in Hogsmeade with you? The one who constantly tries to make my life miserable?"

"Well- um, I thought—"

"YOU THOUGHT? The very idea of you thinking is hilarious. You didn't think at all. You simply assumed that I would say yes because every other girl has."

"But—"

"Well, I've got _news_ for you Potter! I am going to be the one girl who will NEVER go out with you." And with that, she pushed back her chair, and dashed out of the Great Hall.

"We better go make sure she's okay," said Alice, as she and Emmeline exchanged worried glances.

"Let's go," sighed Emmeline, glowering at James who always seemed to wreak havoc in their lives. To think that kind, sweet, funny, clever Lily, who hardly ever lost her temper with most, would get so angry with this irrepressible boy.

They found Lily striding furiously toward the portrait-hole, hissing the password to a very offended Fat Lady.

"LILY!" shouted Emmeline, as she and Alice hurried behind their livid Lily.

As they joined Lily in their dormitory, they saw that she had begun punching her pillow, something she hardly ever did—except for when she was especially irate.

"Lily," puffed Alice, out of breath, "We—"

"I can't BELIEVE the nerve of that INSOLENT, PIG-HEADED TOE-RAG!"screamed Lily lividly. "He thinks that after all the arrogant things he's done to me and others that I would go out with him! And since when does he want to go out with me? I'LL BET HE JUST WANTS TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT HE WAS ABLE TO GET ME TO GO OUT WITH HIM EVEN THOUGH HE'S JERK, SCUM, ugh—" she keeled back onto her bed exhaustedly.

"I know, I know," soothed Alice, stroking Lily's hair in a motherly fashion, "But you know boys; they always want what they can't have."

"Which is why you shouldn't have said anything to him," stated Emmeline, "You should have just given him a slap in the face at ever considering asking you out after all the pranks he's played on you!"

"It doesn't make sense," Lily said wearily, "He's not supposed to like me. Or else he's had a funny way of showing it."

"Well, I've always thought he liked you in his own demented way," recalled Emmeline, "Remember? He always teased you about your hair first year."

"And then, he got steadily more swollen-headed and preferred to show off and annoy you," added Alice, "From second year on."

"He's such a prat," proclaimed Lily vehemently.

* * *

"Better luck next time, James," said Remus, patting his friend on the back.

"She was probably just overcome by your charm," reassured Sirius, who was intensely loyal to and somewhat blind to his friends, as well as their faults.

"She probably doesn't believe that the great James Potter really likes her," added Peter flatteringly.

"Yeah," said James, brightening up considerably, "I'll ask her after the Quidditch game- like I was planning to originally.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that," remarked Sirius, "You had said you were asking her out after the Quidditch game tomorrow before."

"Oh, so you had a _plan_?" asked Remus, smiling at James' stubbornness to admit that he liked Lily. "Since when did you actually publicly, meaning to us Marauders, ADMITTED you like Lily?"

"I thought it was understood," James shrugged carelessly, "I thought about what you and Sirius said earlier, and decided you were right; 'nough said."

Sirius cackled gleefully, "Yes, let's get that on record now! Remus and Sirius were- what did you say, Jamesie?"

"Right," James muttered irritably.

"A little louder, James. We couldn't hear you," said Remus with a smile.

"RIGHT! Let's get on with transforming. Got the dungbombs, Peter?"

"Right _now_?" Peter whimpered.

"Yes," barked Sirius, "It's time. You've made us procrastinate long enough."

"Okay," said Peter whined, as he reached for the desired objects.

"Sirius, would you like to do the honors?' asked James in a mock-polite voice.

"I would be _dee_- lighted to, James," Sirius responded, stretching his arm out toward Peter, who complied by handing over the dungbombs.

"Hurry!" hissed Remus, "They might see us!"

Without any more words, Sirius set off the dungbombs, from which everyone who had been residing in the common room fled, highly irritated to be interrupted.

When everyone had cleared out, James said, "Alright. This is the big moment we've all been waiting for. We've practiced wandless and soundless magic for three and a half years. Now, all we have to do, according to our research, is say in our heads the spell 'Animagus Factus.' To transform back into our human form, the incantation is 'Homino Facto.'"

"Alright," replied Sirius, "I'll go first. And something happens to me- well, just remember how much personality and fame I gave to Hogwarts. He winked, and silently thought the two words that would allow him to change form. Suddenly, the other three Marauders weren't looking at Sirius's familiar, tall, broad-shouldered form. What they saw was a large, black dog, who immediately began barking excitedly, and licking them happily.

"We'd better put a silencing spell on the common room," Remus said to James, as he waved his wand at each wall mouthing, "_Silencio_."

"Alright, Sirius," James said to the black, hairy dog, who was behaving like an over-grown puppy. "Change back so you can tell us what it's like."

Sirius whimpered, but grudgingly, or so it appeared (they weren't completely sure since Sirius was in dog-form), Sirius became a human again. "Blimey! That was the most exhilarating thing I've ever experienced. Did you know dogs have this really great sense of hearing and smelling? And did you see my padded feet? They were so nice and velvety."

"Okay, 'Mighty One with Padded Feet," chuckled Lupin, "We're glad you liked being a dog."

"Isn't it ironic that he and his constellation are part of the same species?" pointed out James, who found this terribly amusing, judging by his laughing.

"Well—" said a slightly affronted Sirius, "Let's see what kind of animal you are."

Without a word, James suddenly morphed into a majestic animal: a stag. However, James didn't realize he was a stag. He looked up at his friends questioningly; his hazel eyes had grown larger, giving him an almost-innocent look. But there was still a mischievous spark. He lifted one of his hoofs and playfully kicked Sirius, who had said he would be a donkey, which he could tell he was not since his legs were much more slender than a donkey's. He decided to transform back into a human, since he wasn't exactly sure what he was. "What was I?"

"Well, let's put it this way, James. You had antlers," Remus replied, smiling wryly.

"So I was a stag?" he asked incredulously. "A noble beast. Just like me." He grinned like a three year old in a candy store.

"Alright, Peter. It's your turn," said Sirius, grinning at Peter, who was turning a little green.

"R-r-r-right. I'll try." He shut his eyes tightly, his brows drawn rigidly together. Then, suddenly, he was shrinking. Soon, he was nothing more than plump, gray rat, with small beady eyes that had looked up immediately to see that everything had grown quite a bit larger. Peter wanted to be human again, so he transformed back more quickly than James and Sirius.

"I'M A RAT!" he shouted, and James noticed that his eyes seemed a little beadier than they had been before he transformed, but, he decided not to mention this to Peter, who was hyper-ventilating as it was.

"You're the perfect size to press the knot on the Whomping Willow," responded Remus, hoping to cheer him up.

"Yeah—it was lucky that one of us was small enough. Otherwise, that blasted tree could have decapitated one of us," added Sirius, catching on to what Remus was trying to do.

"You know," began James thoughtfully, running his hand through his hair, "We four are the Marauders. And now, we are all Animagi—except Remus, of course," he added apologetically.

"So what's your point?" asked Sirius, always impatient to get to the point of James' long rambles that usually ended in mischief of some sort.

"We should have nicknames. Nicknames no one else knows or uses," James answered, his hazel eyes twinkling merrily, "And they'll never know why we call each other the nicknames, because the nicknames will come from our Animagi forms!"

"What a great prank!" agreed Sirius, a wide grin etched on his face, "It's a prank because everyone will be dying to know why we call each other that!"

"Fine with me," shrugged Remus, smiling at his two friends' enthusiasm. "What do you think, Peter?"

"Sounds wicked," Peter said agreeably.

"Well, I think my nick name should be King," suggested Sirius with his nose in the air.

"No," laughed Remus, "You're padded feet."

"Well, I LIKE my feet!" Sirius retorted defensively. "But that actually sounds dumb. How about…um…Padfeet?"

"Padfoot," corrected James. "You'll be Padfoot. The question is- what will mine be?"

"Um," began Remus, "Something to do with your antlers. Because your antlers are what make you distinctive."

"His antlers look like cooking prongs," offered Peter.

"Heh—we could call him Prongs," barked Sirius. "Actually, that's not so bad. Good idea, Peter."

"Prongs?" inquired James doubtfully, "Well, it sounds masculine, and it sounds important. I guess it works."

"So what will I be?" squeaked Peter.

"Well, what differentiates you from other rodents is your tail. So, what does your tail look like?" wondered Remus aloud.

"Looks like a worm," commented Sirius, "A tail that looks like a worm. A worm that looks like a tail."

"Wormtail?" suggested James, hardly noticing Peter's dubious expression.

"Yeah, it fits," agreed Remus. "Well, what about me? I'm a werewolf. We hardly need go into what makes a werewolf different from other wolves."

"The moon," remarked James softly.

"Moony," stated Sirius decidedly. "You're Moony."

"So begin the adventures of Prongs, Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail," declared James, a smile creeping across his face.

"What mischief we shall manage," Sirius said gleefully.

"Yes," agreed Remus, "But right now, I really want to go to sleep."

"School tomorrow," groaned Peter.

"Kill-joys," muttered Sirius under his breath.

"Right. Let's go," said James leading the way.

But that night, it wasn't about being an illegal Animagus that James was thinking about—it was a certain redhead who had turned him down: his first time to be ever turned down. But he would convince her to go out with him, if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

Read and review! I want to know your reaction to James' discovery that he likes Lily. 


	6. And a Second Time

Thanks for all the encouraging reviews! Here it is--edited! (does the happy dance) Let me know how it is!

Ch. 5 And a Second Time

James stretched, his joints cracking- he hadn't gotten much sleep last night, due to the Marauders' excitement at their successful transformations. Then he remembered. Today was the Quidditch game. The Quidditch game that Dumbledore had scheduled on a Monday. The only Quidditch game ever on a Monday. Dumbledore had said that the students needed some fun after all the studying they had done for the past month and a half. James put on his glasses, and checked his watch. He needed to get into the shower. He crawled out of bed, humming loudly out of tune. Remus cringed, "James," he said hoarsely, "Must you hum? It's loud and some of us aren't ready to get up just yet."

"We were only going to sleep for a few more minutes, James," protested Frank sleepily.

"Well, now you all will get a head start on your shower," called back James cheerfully, who had already entered the bathroom.

"He's way too cheerful at this hour in the morning," Remus remarked gruffly.

"One of these days, we should get up extra early, and wake him up," responded Frank. "It'd be good for him to see how it feels."

"Good idea," agreed Remus, smiling for the first time that morning.

* * *

"Mmmm?" grunted Lily sleepily, digging her head deeper into her pillow.

"LILY!" shouted Emmeline. "It's time to—"

"Don't even say it," groaned Lily.

"Well, get up," ordered Emmeline. "Alice, Marlene, Dorcas, and I have been up for fifteen minutes already."

"Y'all are unnatural," muttered Lily darkly, rubbing her eyes irritably.

"You'll look unnatural if you don't get up," Alice called back to Lily, over-hearing the "unnatural" remark.

"Oh, bug off," replied Lily, falling out of bed with a "thump," all of her covers twisted around her long legs.

Emmeline surveyed the comical image and chortled amusedly, "You look ridiculous, Lily. Come on," she offered her hand to Lily to help her up. Lily pulled her down too.

"Hehe," giggled Lily, "That's what you get for waking me up."

* * *

"What's up first, Lily?" asked Alice, as she reached for a scone.

"Potions," replied Lily brightly.

"Looking forward to outshining us all once again?" laughed Alice, nudging her friend, "Slughorn will be pleased to see you again."

"It's funny how he reacted when I told him I'm a Muggleborn," responded Lily.

Alice, in imitation of the professor, said, "A few good eggs in your lot. Gets me every time. Thought you were Pureblood for sure, Miss Evans."

"No—no!" volunteered Emmeline. "What I'll never forget is how jealous that slimy Snape was when Sluggy told you your potion was the best in the class."

"The git's probably still sore over it," agreed Alice.

"Silly thing to be sore about, really," Lily said lightly, as she noticed a shadow straying over her place.

"You can always reduce him to what I've always suspected he's really made of, grease and dirt. It's just a matter of chemistry." suggested Emmeline, who disliked Snape immensely because of the way he treated Muggleborns such as herself and Lily.

Alice wrinkled her brows in confusion, while Lily smiled in understanding. "Chemistry?"

"Chemistry with Snivellus? I think I've lost my appetite," interrupted James, who had been hovering nearby listening to the girls' breakfast conversation. He possessively put his arm around Lily, who quickly tried to shake it off.

"It's a subject in Muggle school, Potter," replied Lily irritably, not appreciating Potter's arm a least bit. She rectified the situation by completely removeing the offending arm from around her shoulders.

"Maybe you should tutor me in this _chemistry_ class, Evans," James suggested suggestively. "'Cause we definitely got some chemistry going on." Lily narrowed her eyes at him, her lips pressed together.

"Better watch out, Potter," suggested Emmeline warningly, seeing Lily's displeasure. "As it is, she woke up on the wrong side of the bed. You're ego isn't tranquilizing her."

"I think my ego is seductive," James replied, grinning cockily. "I'll catch you later, Evans." He winked and joined the other Marauders.

"Wow. That was the least we've ever done to make him go away," commented Alice skeptically. "I wonder what he's up to."

"No good," answered Emmeline, a wry smile appearing on her face.

"He's an arse," stated Lily. "Maybe we should reduce him to what he's made of—one swollen ego and indestructable stomach."

The girls laughed as they got up and made their way to the Potions classroom.

* * *

Professor Slughorn was best described as short and round. He loved a fine meal, and valued even finer company. Ever since he had come to Hogwarts to teach (it was his alma mater), he had taken a great interest in students he thought would one day reach the top. Although head of Slytherin house, he was not particularly prejudiced and claimed a wide variety of students from different houses for his own special members of what the students fondly or jealously referred to as "Sluggy's Club." Slughorn favored the students connected to the well-known, as well as the students especially capable and talented at academics (namely, his own subject) and Quidditch, or the unusually charming. Therefore, when he had met Lily Evans, he had discovered that Lily not only was a very talented witch, but she was also very witty and charming. Her quick wit and intelligence made her a natural teacher's pet in Potions.

"Today we'll be making Pepper-Up potion—something I thought would be useful to you fifth years, considering the fact that your O.W.L.'s are coming up soon. Can anyone tell me what Pepper-Up potion does?"

Lily's, Remus', and Snape's hands shot up. "Yes, Miss Evans?" asked Professor Slughorn, with an encouraging smile.

"It increases your alertness and energy, and also cures the common cold."

"Good. Ten points to Gryffindor." Severus Snape could be seen grinding his teeth and nastily sneering at Lily. James, eyeing the "slimeball" in disgust, turned to Remus. Not usually very adept at Potions, James was surprised that Remus knew what Pepper-Up potion was.

He asked, "How did you know that, Moony? Pepper-Up potion isn't even in the book." Lily, hearing Potter's question, grew curious and she slightly turned her head to listen.

"I live by the stuff," responded Remus, "You know, with my condition."

"Oh right," replied Sirius, also listening in, as if a light-bulb had gone off in his head (which it would have had he known what a light-bulb is).

"What condition?" hissed a greasy-haired boy, with a sallow complexion.

"Keep your oily nose out of other people's business, Snivellus," sneered James, recalling to Lily's mind a carnivorous animal that had sensed its prey. She didn't like Snape any more than the next person, but she didn't need glasses to see that he wasn't as privileged as James was, and hadn't grown up among the kind of people who would influence him to be a better person. But she realized that she needed to stop listening and pay attention because Professor Slughorn was giving instructions, and potions was a class Lily knew she needed to do well in order to be an auror. She knew because she had done the research.

What Lily didn't hear was, "Make me, Potter," from the sallow boy.

"You know we will," growled Sirius menacingly.

"Meet me after Potions then," challenged the boy, his lip curling antagonistically.

"Make sure you show," snarled James fiercely.

"Potter! Black! Snape! Get to work on your potion!" ordered Professor Slughorn briskly.

* * *

"You two go on to the library," Lily told her friends. "I need to ask Professor Slughorn a question.

"We don't mind waiting, Lily," responded Alice loyally.

"Nah- I'll be fine. You two need to finish your Care of Magical Creatures reading before the class, which is _today_," smiled Lily, knowing her two friends weren't nearly as high-strung about getting homework done the day before as she was.

"Okay," agreed Emmeline grudgingly. "See you in a few minutes, Lils."

"I'll be there," replied Lily, as her two friends headed towards the library. She went up to Professor Slughorn and asked, "Do you think I could have some extra of the Armadillo bile? It's not in the student potion ingredients storage room."

Professor Slughorn beamed at her, "Of course, Miss Evans. I'm so glad you want to make your own potions."

"I thought it would be good practice for my future career." Lily explained.

"What is it you want to do?" Professor Slughorn inquired with interest. "An intelligent witch like yourself could go far."

"I want to be an Auror."

"Ah, yes, I see. Let me go get it." A few minutes later, the professor returned, and handed Lily a cloth bag with the desired ingredient enclosed.

"Pepper-up Potion is a good place to start if you want to be an Auror. You do know why, do you not, Miss Evans?"

"Aurors need to know healing potions, and Pepper-Up makes the user more alert. So if I were to be tired when on a mission, Pepper-Up could save my life."

"Well said," Slughorn beamed approvingly. "If you need any advice on other potions to practice brewing on your own, you need only ask."

"Thank you professor," replied Lily gratefully, although in her mind, Lily knew she would do her best to get other ingredients from the student supply and other classmates, so as not to arouse more jealousy from people like Snape.

"Any time," replied Slughorn kindly.

As Lily started down the corridor and turned, she heard some banging and shouting.

"TARANTELLEGRA!" Lily swiveled around, and to her horror, she saw Severus Snape doing a crazy dance, but not as if he were enjoying it. She saw that he was mouthing a spell, with his wand pointed wildly at "POTTER! I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily commanded, not at all amused by this display of violence.

The two dueling boys paid no attention. Snape yelled, "RICTUSEMPRA!" causing James to go into convulsive laughter and squirming. Lily glared at both, as she pointed her wand at James, and said, "Finite Incantem." Then she pointed at Snape and ended his dance.

"You two should be ashamed of yourselves!" Lily began, but she didn't get to finish because Narcissa Black, a fourth year, and her horrible boyfriend, Lucius Malfoy, hexed her with the stunning curse from behind her back, before she realized they were there.

Before Narcissa and Lucius had arrived, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had stood honorably aside as James and Snape dueled, although Sirius had needed to be restrained by both Remus and Peter to keep him from joining the fight. But after Lily had been stunned unfairly, they jumped into the fray, with the exception of Peter, who was slowly backing away. Remus first ennervated Lily, who was forced to recover quickly when Narcissa began attacking her.

"Incarcerous!" Lily commanded at Narcissa, thick ropes entwining the blonde witch's body, causing her to trip, and fall flat on her face. Unfortunately for Narcissa, one seemed to notice. Lily stared as the others continued to fight.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" James shouted at Malfoy, enraged that anyone would harm Lily, especially while her back was turned and she wasn't even fighting.

Sirius, meanwhile, had been fighting Snape, whom he had promptly banished. Snape was now sprinting furiously back to Sirius, a murderous glint in his cold, black eyes. "Serpensortia!" Everyone suddenly stopped what they were doing, frozen in fear by the gigantic snake. To their surprise, Lily alone didn't lose her head, and forcefully said the incantation, "Evanesco!" The serpent disappeared. They were turning back to their opponent when: "I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A FLAGRANT DISREGARD FOR THE RULES!" exclaimed Professor McGonagall, with Professor Slughorn standing next to her with disapproval written all over his face also.

"To Professor Dumbledore's office. Immediately," Professor McGonagall finished icily, furious at the offending students.

The eight students trekked after the two teachers, each with different expressions on his or her faces. Lily felt like someone at the peak of a mountain who was sliding down, uncontrollably. She glanced over at the others. Remus looked angry, but in his quiet, un-showy way. Peter looked scared. Sirius looked wild and defiant. James was frowning, and looking like he had just missed out on something he enjoyed. She snorted at his expression. Always so juvenile. Did he not realize what the consequences could be? Or maybe he thought nothing could happen to him. Snape's lip was curled nastily, and Narcissa's visage held a detached expression, as if this mayhem had nothing to do with _her_. Lucius was sneering coldly in the Marauders' and Lily's direction, mouthing "Mud-blood," at Lily. Lily simply held her head high and continued to follow the professors, who were now leading the disgraced students to a gargoyle that leaped aside, revealing a door. The group stepped onto an ascending, spiraling staircase that brought them to another door, presumably to the headmaster's office. Professor Slughorn knocked, and a voice said, "Come in."

They entered a beautiful round room that contained many curious and rather random intruments. But the most noticeable of these was a majestic phoenix, singing a melodious song, that stopped when Professor Dumbledore said, "Well; five fifth year Gryffindors, two fourth year Slytherins, and one fifth year Slytherin. Would you like to explain, Minerva, what it is they are here for?" He looked somewhat amused at the mussed up crowd of students, who weren't looking their prime after the brawl.

"I found these students dueling outside the dungeons," she replied lividly. "She," she pointed at Narcissa, "Was bound with ropes. And the others were all looking on as Miss Evans vanished a huge serpent that Mr. Snape conjured."

"Miss Evans, would you care to fill us in on what occurred?" questioned Professor Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling in spite of the situation.

"Well, Professor," began Lily, trying to convey how she had felt at the precise moment she had _tied up Narcissa_, adequately, "I saw Potter and Snape dueling in the hallway. So, I told them to stop, but they didn't of course, as you can probably tell…But anyways, I used "finite incantem" and made them stop, when suddenly, I was unconscious. I don't know what happened while I was unconscious, but when Remus revived me, I had to start protecting myself against Narcissa, so I used 'incarcerous' on her. The others were still fighting, when Snape conjured a snake, which made everyone freak out. So, I vanished it. And then, you know the rest."

"I see," Dumbledore said coolly, "And why were you, Mr. Potter and Mr. Snape, _dueling_ in the corridor?

"Potter provoked me, Professor," replied Snape unemotionally.

"Sni- Snape _also_ provoked me," answered James defensively.

"I'm sure you provoked each other," was Dumbledore's reply, as his mouth curved into a small smile at the two boys' responses. "I would also like to know who stunned Miss Evans, and why."

"Malfoy! The slimy coward stunned Ev- Lily from behind!" Sirius exclaimed angrily. "And all she had been trying to do was stop the fighting!"

"I see. What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Malfoy?" asked Dumbledore, with all amusement drained from his voice.

"I didn't know she wasn't fighting. All I saw was one Slytherin surrounded by five Gryffindors."

"That will do," ended Dumbledore. "You will all receive two weeks of detention each, with the exception of Miss Evans, and have thirty points taken from your houses. Please go to wherever you are supposed to be."

"Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore. But more of them were fighting than us," Narcissa said in a saccharin voice, the sweetness of which did not reach her cold, blue eyes.

"Miss Black! The headmaster has his reasons! Who are you to question him?" rebuked McGonagall, who felt she needed to step in at such insolence.

"No, let me explain to Miss Black. It is a perfectly valid question," Dumbledore to Narcissa, "Mr. Malfoy did an extremely dishonorable thing by stunning Miss Evans from behind, and only four of the Gryffindors were actually fighting out of choice."

"Oh," Narcissa said, failing to look sweet at all, as she narrowed her eyes in Lily's direction.

"I believe that it's time for lunch," added Dumbledore as the students departed the headmaster's office.

"Ugh! I can't believe I just wasted a whole period on the Slytherins!" Lily said to the Marauders as they made their way towards the Great Hall. "And it's all your fault, Potter!"

"What? My fault?" asked James, "It was Snivelly's fault for being such a slimeball and having the nerve to duel me! I'm the best at Defense against the Dark Arts in our year!"

"Oh, really?" asked Lily, her green eyes glinting dangerously, "You're just so brilliant and talented, Potter, that you think you're unbeatable?"

"I know I'm unbeatable, Evans," replied James, an arrogant grin plastered on his face, "As you shall see for yourself after the game today."

"I'm not so sure if I'm going to the game," hissed Lily, "Because I don't think I want to have to see your swollen head give you a concussion when your broom can't support the weight of it." Lily stalked off, furious that Potter was so careless of what his actions could bring about. Today was a prime example. She was so absorbed in her silent rants against James that she nearly collided into Alice.

"Well?" asked Alice, a little testy that Lily had never followed them to the library.

"You won't believe what I just witnessed," Lily fumed, "And did."

"Go on," urged Emmeline, whose irritation switched to concern at Lily's face.

* * *

After the "Potter-Snape Fight," as all the school gossips were calling it, the day passed uneventfully, excluding the pre-Quidditch game excitement everyone shared, apart from Lily, who was having trouble deciding whether to fulfill her threat to James, or do what she wanted to do, which was to support her house. She wound up choosing the latter, after much cajoling from her two friends, who after hearing her story, told that if she wanted to illustrate to Potter that he didn't get to her, she would have to show up.

The Quidditch pitch was flamboyantly decorated with blue and scarlet, the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor colors. James was revved up and excited to display his prowess at chasing. And afterwards, he would ask Evans, who would surely be enthralled by his skill.

"This is it! This is the game we've all been waiting for! Been practicing our arses off for!" Gryffindor's seventh year captain beamed, his blood pumping at the thought of beating the Ravenclaws. "They're good, but where they're good- we're better! THIS IS OUR TIME! THIS IS OUR GAME!"

"THIS IS OUR LIFE!" added Sirius cheekily, receiving a glare from the captain.

"Alright. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO, TEAM?" shouted the captain.

"WE'RE GONNA KICK SOME ARSE AND WIN!" answered the team. They all cheered and sprinted onto the field, carrying their brooms. Madame Hooch made the captains shake hands, although the shake was more of a "who can squeeze harder" contest. On the count of three, both teams shot into the air.

* * *

Lily, Emmeline, and Alice sat on the Gryffindor side of the stadium, watching breathlessly.

The score was 30 to 20, Gryffindor in the lead. "Chaser James Potter in possession of the quaffle, passes to Dorcas Meadowes, back to Potter, and he SCORES! Ah, Ravenclaw keeper Florence Bradley blocked that next shot. What a shame…and now Ted Tonks is in possession, ouch! That must have hurt! A bludger sent his way by none other than beater, Sirius Black, known to be quite the lady's man, he's given me _quite_ a few tips…"

"BAGMAN! STAY ON TASK!" yelled McGonagall, who had been monitoring him on his first time of commentating.

"Right, Professor. Gryffindor chaser James Potter in possession of the quaffle, nice backwards pass to Finnigan and Finnigan—scores. The score is now 50 to 20 Gryffindor! And Ravenclaw is in possession again—Tonks scores! What? What is it I see? Has the snitch been sighted?"

Lily searched the skies for the snitch, which would be the real deciding factor of the game. Then, she noticed that James was flying past her more slowly than he should have been. As she studied this strange event, she realized he was staring at her, with a smirk on his face, "OY! EVANS! COULDN'T KEEP YOURSELF AWAY FROM ME?" He sped off in the direction of the quaffle, looking back to see her glaring daggers at him and at the obnoxiously laughing people around her. Nearly hit with a bludger, James decided to concentrate on the game. "Goals now, girls later," he muttered to himself with a devilish smile. But before he could do anymore, he heard an audible silence throughout the stadium, and looked around wildly, to see the two seekers on both teams in hot pursuit of the elusive snitch. It was a tight victory, but the Gryffindor seeker's hand grasped the Golden Snitch triumphantly. The game was over. "GRYFFINDOR WINS!" announced Ludo Bagman.

"I knew Gryffindor would win!" Alice said happily, "Now we can go to the party and I can talk to Frank!"

"_I_ think you should come with me and Lily to the library so we can finish our homework in _peace_," Emmeline replied sternly, although a teasing smile threatened to appear on her face anyway.

"What do you think, Lily?" appealed Alice. But as Lily tried to answer, James came swooping down upon them.

"What are you doing, Potter?" demanded Lily, her face etched with exasperation and confusion.

As James hovered just above her, he replied, full of himself, "So, Evans, you came after all. Didn't want to miss me score, did you now?"

"Oh of course, Potter! How did you _ever_ guess!" Lily responded sarcastically.

"I'm good at things like that. I'm good at a lot of things. Like impressing you, for example," he added smugly.

"The most impressive thing about you, besides the extremity of your big-head is your self-centeredness, Potter."

"Self-centered? I'm here for _you,_ Evans. Will you go with me to Hogsmeade?" he asked, thinking she was playing hard to get.

"You're selfish too," she added angrily, "If I weren't so bound by my morals, I would pull you off your broom right now and—"

"Snog me senseless?" finished James cockily, messing his already messed up hair even more.

"Don't be so—so ludicrous! The idea is revolting!"

"So, is it yes?"

"What do you think, Potter? Surely you're smart enough to figure that one out," Lily retorted, turning towards her impatient friends.

"Yes!" he answered, and he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her onto his broom, taking off before Lily had time to react. But react she did.

"POTTER! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT! OR I WILL HEX YOU INTO THE NEXT MILLENNIUM! NOW!" screamed Lily, outraged beyond care or thought, but holding tightly to James, since she was afraid she would fall otherwise.

"Enjoying yourself? Didn't I tell you this morning that I would 'catch you later?'" he asked, delighted that she had her arms around him.

"IF YOU DON'T LET ME GO-- I'LL DO IT! I DON'T NEED ANY EXCUSES _NOW_!"

"Okay, fine. If you want down, _down_ you'll get," he said, with an evil grin on his face, as they dived down toward the ground, much too fast for Lily's comfort, who could only hang onto James for dear life, something she really didn't like at all.

When they were back on the ground, the first thing James felt was Lily slapping him about one, two, three, four…he lost count—times.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU, POTTER! YOU THINK THAT _THAT_ WILL MAKE ME WANT TO GO OUT WITH YOU? You are the most arrogant, selfish, ego-centric maniac I have ever had the immense displeasure of knowing. If you know what's good for you, you will leave me alone!" Lily cried, near to tears at what James had just done to her. Not only had it been discomfiting, it had been humiliating.

"One of these days- you're going to realize that I am _perfect_ for you, Evans!" responded James confidently, but rubbing his stinging face.

"Well, I have news for you, Potter. You have just proven my point about how self-centered you are! 'I am perfect for you, EVANS!' You don't even _know_ me; you can't even call me by my first name! 'One of these days' is equal to never."

"I _know_ that I like you," he offered, smiling charmingly at her, hoping to make her anger subside with his trademark comment he had prepared for the hard-to-get girls, a species he had never encountered before Lily.

"Potter, if you don't get out of my sight this instant, bad things are going to happen!"

"Um, mate," Sirius looked warily at Lily as he continued to James, "She's not playing hard to get. I think she means it."

"I realize that, Sirius!" James hissed, "Now that I've asked her out—officially, and have been refused, all there is left to do is continue asking her out until she changes her mind."

"WHICH WILL NEVER HAPPEN!" Lily shouted, as she stomped off, screaming in frustration.

Remus and Peter joined Sirius and James. "I can't understand why you thought Lily would go out with you after what you just did!" Remus, was pulling out his hair, as he looked at James hopelessly.

"Couldn't you tell she meant it when she said _no_?" he demanded again.

"Well, I thought she was playing hard to get!" James responded defensively.

"Hard to get MY ARSE!" snorted Sirius, "I told you she was your death wish."

"She's scary," remarked Peter, looking back in the direction Lily had gone, "Choose one of those girls who swoons whenever you walk by. Not as exciting, but much less dangerous."

"I like her. And I want to go out with her. She's the only girl who is even _close_ to being my equal in anything. She just doesn't realize how lucky she is!" James said, taking off on his broom.

"I have to wonder whether he's going to come down again, considering the fact that the sky is the only place Evans can't curse him into nothingness. And I'll bet she could _still_ find a way," Sirius stated, as if he believed anything was possible. And it was, with Lily Evans.

Tell me what you think! PhoenixPlume


	7. The Marauder's Map

This chapter has been edited to include things that occurred in HBP. Read and enjoy! PhoenixPlume

Ch. 6 The Marauders' Map

Hogsmeade passed uneventfully, and November came. Three fifth year Gryffindor girls were doing a most unusual thing in the Potions classroom on a weekend, of all times.

"Well—I've added all the ingredients. Time to try it out," Lily said, as she stirred some Pepperup Potion.

"Um, Lily, I wouldn't if I were you," Alice said, pinching the skin around her neck in worry. "You used the lacewings that that seventh year was selling—for all you know, it's what's making the potion not look right."

"Nonsense," Lily said, "It was cheap, but it looked alright. And I would have had to go ask Professor Slughorn, and I'm trying to avoid him right now since people keep giving me evil looks in Potions. Plus, I followed the instructions." Lily was one of Professor Slughorn's favorite students, and he didn't bother trying to hide it. So, Lily had taken to avoiding him outside of class in order to not embitter her other classmates who didn't get as much attention.

Emmeline sighed, eyeing the sickly looking potion Lily had made.

Lily dipped a cup into the potion and drunk it all. But instead of making her more alert, and causing smoke to come out of her ears, she started grasping at her throat in frustration, mouthing, "I can't talk!"

"Oh, great," Alice said in frustration, exchanging worried glances with Emmeline.

"It was one of those Noisemongers from Zonko's," Emmeline stated grimly. "They look like the Lacewing butterfly.

"We'd better take her to the infirmary," Emmeline said, trying to keep things from getting out of control any more. Alice was rocking back and forth anxiously, like she was about to have a seizure.

"Come on, Lily—you too, Alice," Emmeline ordered, as she pulled Lily and Alice out of the room, only to discover James and Sirius strutting through the hallway. James, hearing people behind them, turned and saw that something was wrong with Alice and said, "What happened to her?"

"Lily drank some Pepperup potion she made," Emmeline said grimly, "She can't talk now."

"But Lily's an ace at Potions!" protested Sirius. "Let's hope Snivelly doesn't find out. He'd have a field day."

But James looked as if Christmas had come early. "I can finally say something to her without her getting me back!" he cried out gleefully.

"That's a first, Prongs," chuckled Sirius, "You can say anything to her now!" Lily shook her fist at both of them, her green eyes saying everything.

"Come on, Lils," Alice said quickly, grabbing Lily's arm forcefully. Emmeline turned to lead the way to the hospital wing.

"Don't miss me too much, Evans!" James called out cheekily, blowing a kiss, at which Lily turned and stuck her tongue out at him.

"We'll French another time, Evans!" James shouted in a mock-reassuring tone, winking at her impudently, "And I'll be sure to come give you a get-well visit!"

She turned, glaring at him, and hurried to Madame Pomfrey's, hoping to get her voice as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, when Madame Pomfrey heard Lily's story (from Emmeline), she shook her head. "You should have come to me first, Miss Evans. You're not the only one in here whose sick because of those awful Zonko's products. Salvester Boot's here too on acount of Boogar Babies." She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "If I ever am face to face with Mr. Adam Zonko…You're not going to be able to talk for a while, dear."

Lily's eyes grew wide with disbelief. "What?" she mouthed, then she slapped herself at her stupidity. Her avoiding Slughorn had caused her more trouble than it was worth.

"Don't worry, Lily," Alice said, trying to comfort her distressed friend, "I'm sure you'll find a way to communicate with us while Madame Pomfrey comes up with a remedy."

"She always does," laughed Emmeline. "Like when she's in the shower and has to tell us something." A boy with boogars oozing disgustingly from his nose looked at Lily with interest.

Lily blushed with embarrassment and glared at Emmeline. She didn't want everyone to have images of her in the shower.

Emmeline laughed and turned to Madame Pomfrey, "Will she still be attending classes?"

"Most certainly not!" Madame Pomfrey responded hotly, her lips pursed in a piffled manner. "She needs rest!"

Lily had been thinking about her dilemma. Then, she thought of it. She remembered a prank parchment, an "Insult Your Enemies" parchment she had once bought at Zonko's for Petunia- a piece of parchment that insulted whoever read it personally when spoken to. She waved her hands wildly, causing Madame Pomfrey alarm, judging from the speed of which she rushed Lily off into bed. "She needs rest!" she repeated.

The other two girls smiled at each other, knowing that Lily always waved her hands around when she had an especially good idea. When they reached Lily's new bed, Lily, who was forced to lie down, immediately began waving her hands wildly again, beckoning to Alice and Emmeline to bring her a spare bit of parchment. When the girls, catching her drift (it took a few minutes for them to figure out what she meant), had found some parchment and a quill, and had handed them to her, Lily began scribbling intently, explaining her bright plan. When she was finished, it basically said that she needed a nice piece of parchment, which she was going to charm to say what she normally said to whomever spoke to it. She also asked for a very advanced charms book. For most, such a charm as the one Lily was going to use would have been too difficult, but charms came naturally to Lily. Her willow wand that had chosen her was designed specifically for charm-work.

When the girls had hurried back from the places where the supplies were to found, Lily smiled and looked up the complicated charm she needed. When she had found it, she reached for her wand, and mouthed the charm while pointing her wand at the paper. She handed it to Emmeline, quite pleased with herself.

Emmeline smiled, her blue eyes glittering with fun, as she thought about something that would gain a particular response that only Lily would say. She said, "What do you think of James Potter?"

The parchment, with quick strokes, replied, "You know exactly how I feel about that prat! He's full of himself, he's self-centered, he's selfish. He's always pranking younger students for fun, and he hexes older students because he can. I _thoroughly_ detest him!"

Lily laughed silently with the others. Alice smiled and said, "Brilliant, Lil! You're so creative!"

"Especially considering how she's not feeling well," commented Emmeline. "What did you think of my question? I tried to pick one that would benefit a response only you would say." Her eyes twinkled merrily at Lily who rolled her eyes after the said remark.

"Well, it's nearly dinner time," Alice sighed, checking her watch with a disappointed glance. "We'll bring some books and stuff in here after dinner."

The Lily parchment revealed, "Thanks. I'm so lucky to have you all as my friends, and I'm also glad I did my homework already!"

"Yeah- I guess being on top of things is a good thing after all," Emmeline smiled mischievously. "I dread to think of what would happen if what had happened to you had happened to me. I still have to write that horrid Transfiguration essay."

The Lily-parchment replied, "I told you you should have done it earlier. Thanks for everything! I'll see you later."

"Take it easy, babe," replied Alice, patting the sick girl's arm in the motherly fashion Emmeline always teased her about.

"We'll be back later, Lils," Emmeline said, as she and Alice headed toward the infirmary doors.

After dinner, the girls dropped off a book and a couple of _Witch Weekly_'s for Lily to read in bed. Lily mouthed "Thanks," and waved to her friends as they explained that they were off to finish the essay and would be back to see her later. After they left, Lily slumped back into her bed, wishing she had followed everyone's advice. She just wasn't proficient in Potions, she sighed with disappointment. She picked up her book, a muggle book called _Rebecca_ (A/N: this is a very good book, by the way!) But just as she turned the first page, she heard laughter, and looked up, annoyed to see the Marauders heading towards her bed.

"What did I tell you, Evans?" asked James, provokingly messing his hair up with a cocky grin, "Oh, I forgot. You can't tell me." Lily gave him a dirty look and thrust the parchment towards him. The parchment's response was etched furiously in bold letters, "**What did I tell _YOU_?**"

"What did you tell him?" questioned Sirius.

The Lily parchment replied, "Must I repeat myself? I said to leave me alone or suffer the consequences!"

"It's not like you're in a position to hurt me, Evans," laughed James, but seeing Lily's murderous expression, and that she was reaching for her wand, as well as the look Remus gave him, he said, "Or maybe I need to finish my homework."

Sirius asked incredulously. "Wow. How did you get that thing to talk like you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the Lily parchment responded.

Remus smiled and said, "Really, Lily, how _did_ you make the parchment do that?"

The Lily parchment said, "If you look in that book by my bedside, on page 151, you'll find the charm. It puts a shadow of the caster's personality into the parchment, and the charm also makes the parchment answer what the reader says or thinks."

"Wow," Sirius said, awed by her stroke of brilliance. "Where'd you get that idea?"

"Zonko's "Insult Your Enemies" parchments," the Lily parchment said.

"I knew I should have invested in Zonko's stocks!" Sirius declared, hitting himself on the head.

"Me too," agreed Peter, who didn't really understand how this amazing parchment worked.

"So, Lily, can we take this book? Are you finished with it?" Remus inquired politely.

"Sure," the Lily parchment read.

James had been thinking—thinking really hard. And he had just gotten another brilliant idea from Lily's. "Evans," he began smiling mischievously, "You have just given me the idea for the best rule-breaking device in all history. Thanks." Lily's jaw dropped and she raised her eyebrows. The parchment read, "Well? Aren't you going to tell me?"

"I don't think you'd approve," James smirked, "But I'll tell you if you go out with me."

"Haven't we been through this, Potter? Hasn't it sunk into your large head that I have not fallen for you and that I'm not going to? Especially after the blasted broomstick incident," the Lily parchment replied.

"Fine. But I'm going to get you to go out with me. Your refusal only makes me want to get you to go out with me more, you know," James said, smiling cockily while his hazel eyes gleamed at this challenge.

"Come on, Prongs," urged Sirius, deciding that the spark in Lily's vibrant green eyes was nothing to joke about. "Stop beating around the bush about this wonderful, new device!"

"He can't tell Evans," Peter reminded him, happy to know that he had understood something Sirius hadn't for once.

"How right you are! Let's go up to the dorm, with this fantastic piece of literature!" exclaimed James cheerily as he grabbed the book, not at all disheartened by Lily's stormy and resolute answer to his offer. He would win her yet.

Remus said, "Thanks, Lily—we'll return it to the library for you." Lily nodded, but her body language breathed disapproval. Lily believed that rules should be broken only under certain extenuating circumstances, but to make something that would facilitate rule-breaking every day was ridiculous, as well as disturbing. And who knows what crazy idea Potter had thought up this time?

The boys exited the infirmary, James feeling quite puffed up about his stroke of brilliance, quite forgetting Evans' part in the idea. He turned to them and said, "We're going to make a parchment that has all four of our personalities in it."

Sirius smiled wickedly, "The Marauders' Parchment!"

"That doesn't sound snappy enough, Padfoot," James answered, stroking his chin contemplatively.

"It should ould be a map," stated Remus decidedly, his gray eyes sparkling at the idea of a map of Hogwarts. He loved maps.

"The Marauders' Map!" exclaimed James enthusiastically. "That's it! We could perform the magic to make the map, then use that wicked little charm Evans showed us and make it have our personalities! So it could tell us- or the user what to do when he wants to get to—say—the Room of Requirement!"

"Brilliant!" Remus grinned like a kid in a candy store.

"We could also charm it so that it knows what to do if the _wrong_ person gets his greasy hands on it," added Sirius, his eyes shining deviously. "If Snivelly found it, it could say 'Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like Snivellus ever got into Hogwarts.' Peter applauded this sycophantically.

"And we could perform the spell so that every student and teacher's first and last name appears where he or she is in the castle!" finished James triumphantly, as the came to the portrait hole.

"What mischief we shall manage!" Sirius exclaimed, using his favorite phrase.

"We'll need a password," Remus stated, rubbing the temples of his forehead thoughtfully.

"You know the password, Moony," laughed James. "It's _Wormtail_ who doesn't know the password usually." Peter looked at James touchily.

"I know the password." Remus said in irritation. "What I mean is that we need a password to this map. We don't want anyone to read it."

"Password?" barked the Fat Lady, who was growing impatient.

"Electricity!" James shouted, anxious to continue their conversation.

"What _is_ electricity?" demanded Peter.

"Some muggle thing they use for light," replied Remus. "What do you all think of my password idea?"

"They thought of a password ages ago," Peter replied stupidly, wondering why Remus had said something so ridiculous.

"How thick can you get, Wormtail?" asked James, "He's talking about the map!"

"The question is, what is something no person in their right mind would say?" pondered Remus aloud. James chuckled.

"Have any bright ideas, Padfoot? We all know you're not in your right mind," joked James as he and Sirius began to roughhouse in their dorm.

"Something that runs through my mind, especially when we're playing pranks, or I'm with a girl," he added with a mischievous smirk, "Is, 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good.'"

"That is possible the weirdest thing I have ever heard, Padfoot," remarked Remus with a wry smile.

"Well, fine!" snapped Sirius, "I thought it was pretty creative. I thought it up one day during detention."

"You would," James said, clapping Sirius on the shoulder. "Come to think of it, we're going to need to wipe the map blank when we're finished, or anyone could read it."

"Well- it's a mischief-facilitator, so it only stands to reason that we use a derivative of Padfoot's favorite phrase. 'Mischief managed,'" Remus declared smiling, as he got up to search for something.

"I'm going to be famous! We're using to use two of my phrases as _both_ passwords!" Sirius celebrated. "You get that? Not one password! Two passwords!" James and Remus rolled their eyes.

"What are you looking for, Moony?" asked Peter curiously.

"A nice, long piece of parchment, Wormtail."

When Remus had discovered a suitable piece of parchment, the Marauders actually had to start thinking about how they were going to do all these marvolous things.

"How are we going to draw a precise map of Hogwarts?" demanded Sirius, realizing they might have hit a bump in the road.

"I think we should draw memories out of our heads with our wands, like I've seen Dumbledore do to add a memory to his pensieve, and let the paper soak it up," stated James. "If that doesn't work, well…"

"It's a good idea—no harm in trying it," Remus said, positioning his wand to his temple and concentrating on a small area of Hogwarts, namely, the Great Hall. He drew out a silver strand of thought from his temple, and let the parchment absorb it. The parchment did just that; it merely absorbed, but nothing became visible.

"Maybe it's invisible," offered James. "Apparecium!" He pointed his wand at the parchment. Quickly, a very detailed Great Hall appeared.

"Hey!" exclaimed Sirius, you can even see outlines of the House tables on it!"

"We're going to have to put some security spells on it so that only 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good' makes the map show up," commented Remus thoughtfully.

"Lemme try something really quick," James murmured,taking the parchment from Remus. "Memoria Populorum!" The map revealed several dots with ribbons that read the dot's name. Very familiar names…

"Brilliant, Prongs. Look- there's Filch and Mrs. Norris! Now we can avoid them!" Sirius said gleefully, "Now let's see if the map clears if I say 'Mischief Managed'—" The map didn't clear. "I guess we need to add some more spells to make it work."

"Maybe we should finish the map," suggested Remus, "It's going to take us a few hours to get everything on there. And we need to do those security spells in order for our passwords to do what they're meant to do."

James grinned with exuberance, "That way, if _unpleasant_ people try to use it, not only will they not know the password, they'll also be insulted."

"Beautiful," murmured Sirius. A happy expression seemed to have taken permanent residence on his face.

"Well, let's do it!" James said, as he lifted his wand to his temple, and remembered a certain area of Hogwarts.

Several hours later, at around the dismal hour of two in the morning, four boys (Frank had gone to find sleep elsewhere) were sitting in a circle, staring at a blank sheet of parchment. James was tapping it as he murmured sleepily, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Large, curly green letters, written by an invisible hand, appeared on the parchment.

_Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present_ THE MARAUDER'S MAP.

A detailed map of Hogwarts and the outskirts of Hogsmeade appeared, with labeled dots representing people that revealed more than a bad gossip would want to know.

"Yes!" Sirius let out, high-fiving James, Remus, Peter. "There it is! The whole map of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade!"

"And we can see where everyone is," added James. "_Most_ useful for avoiding teachers and such annoyances."

Peter's yawning brought everyone back to earth. "Well," Remus sighed, "Mischief managed." The map cleared, and resembled a spare bit of parchment. James reached for it and folded it neatly, putting it into his pocket.

"I'm tired," whined Peter, looking at his four-poster bed longingly.

"Well, I guess we can start using this tomorrow," James said slowly, slightly disappointed that he had to wait to use their new mischief-aid.

"Just think what havoc we shall wreak tomorrow—actually, since it's two, I guess today," Sirius began dreamily, "And with that invisibility cloak of yours, Prongs."

"We'll be invincible," James responded, his eyes glittering mischievously.

"Poor Hogwarts," Remus smiled. "But now, let's go to bed. I agree with Wormtail on that issue." He stretched and yawned.

They all tumbled into bed, thoroughly spent from their adventure. But as James fell asleep, he wondered what Evans would think about the map—if she ever found out, and if she would ever go out with him. Then he smiled: he would know where she was at all times now that they had the map. With that bright thought, he shut his eyes and fell asleep.

It would be lovely if you reviewed! So please drop a word if you have a minute! Thanks! PhoenixPlume


	8. Christmas DingDongs

Hey! Here's some, um, Christmas cheer for you during February! YES! BUT THE MAIN THING IS THAT I'VE CHANGED SIRIUS' EYE COLOR! They are gray, not brown. I just discovered this at J.K. Rowling's website! So now he has magically transformed and has gray eyes…wait…he does transform… ANYWAYS! Enjoy!

And once again, **James is a chaser**! **_J.K. said so_** (this mssg if for someone who insisted that James is a seeker) And I'm not talking to the girl with whom I had a conversation about the comin word "y'all."

Oh, and I owe two of my friends some credit for embellishing some of my ideas. Actually, one of the ideas was completely her own, but she isn't writing a fic w/ Sirius so I'm allowed to use it. It has to do with _being hungry_…**-PhoenixPlume**

**Disclaimer: The "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" song is not mine. It is by John Rox. Of course, all other familiar things owned by J.K. Rowling.**

* * *

Ch. 7 Christmas Ding-Dongs

"I wouldn't do that if I were you—" cautioned James nervously as Lily sat down on the floor of the common room because all the chairs and sofas were filled, despite the fact that it was Christmas holiday.

"Honestly, Potter, it's not like it's dangerous to sit on the floor," scoffed Lily, rolling her eyes, but feeling like she had rolled them a little too high, because for some reason, she felt like she was rising, then "POTTERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

"EVANS! I TOLD YOU NOT TO SIT THERE!" James exclaimed in exasperation. Lily was zooming through the air on a magic carpet! Sirius was laughing uncontrollably, Peter was staring blankly at where Lily had been a second before, and oh no! Remus opened the portrait hole, looking exhausted, and the magic carpet nearly knocked him down unconscious. But it appeared he was alright.

Poor Lily, on the other hand, was screaming like a banshee as all the Gryffindors watched in horror as she flew out the portrait hole into the hallway. They all turned to James, and were surprised to see him turning to Remus and asking, "What do I do _now_?" Remus rolled his eyes at his friend, and then his jaw dropped in fear when he saw Alice and Emmeline running down the stairs, arguing.

"Honestly, Alice. I'm sure that wasn't Lily screaming. RIGHT?" Emmeline demanded as she turned to face the abashed Gryffindors.

Sirius was the first to recover from his convulsions (of laughter), and faced her with, "That was Evans all right. You should have seen—seen—seen her face! It was hilarious!" He looked down when his gray eyes met Emmeline's blue eyed glare.

"Why?" she said in a stern, gray voice, not unlike Professor McGonagall.

"Uh…" sputtered James, trying to explain that Lily could be anywhere, "Evans accidentally sat on a magic carpet and—"

Alice looked furious and demanded, "Accidentally, Potter? Let me guess, it's _your _magic carpet! And let me guess again? You bought it from a smuggler! It's illegal to possess magic carpets, they're technically muggle artifacts charmed to fly! If Lily isn't back on the ground in five minutes, I will personally make sure you never fly on a broom again." Her brown eyes flashed at the dumb-founded James. As with the Slytherins, Alice's outbursts were so rare, that they always brought results where others failed.

"Um, yeah, but that's," began James, stuttering at Alice and Emmeline's anger.

"Impossible," finished Sirius.

"No, it's fine," Remus pronounced suddenly. "We'll be right back."

"But—" James and Sirius said together, but before they could finish, Remus pulled them into a huddle.

"We have the map," he hissed. "Which one of you has it?"

"I do," offered Sirius, pulling the folded sheet of parchment from his pocket.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," muttered James; he needed to hurry so that no one saw what they were doing. The map showed Lily to be floating, at a quick pace, above the stairway to the dungeons. James slapped himself. Anything could happen to her—that was Slytherin territory. They had to hurry… "C'mon!" he commanded.

The three boys, (Peter was still staring at where Lily had been a few minutes before) ran towards the stairway leading to the dungeons. All they had to do was follow Lily's screaming and the many students who were hurrying towards the source of the noise, curious of why anyone should scream so loudly and for such a long time.

* * *

Lily was flying pell-mell through the hallways. "DARN YOU, POTTER! AND YOUR BLOODY CARPET! WHEN I—IF I EVER GET OFF THIS CARPET, I'M GOING TO—" she stopped, because she had to duck under a doorway. She could not believe him. Number one, magic carpets were illegal. Number two, if he possessed one, shouldn't be hide it? What part of prison didn't Potter understand? She was going to kick him, slap him, and most likely kill him. That was her plan of the moment…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She had just avoided being knocked over by a changing staircase. She noticed many wide-eyed first and second years—and yes, older students gawking at her in disbelief. A few nasty Slytherins were smirking at "MUDBLOOD IN THE AIR!" She'd get them too…but none of them as much as Potter. As she hurtled downwards above the staircase to the dungeons, she did the smartest thing she could think of: she grabbed the ridge over-hanging the dim stairs, desperately clinging to the slippery ledge. She didn't think she could take any more of that haywire ride. She heard a stifled cry from below.

"Help!" she shouted hopefully. "I'm stuck up here!" Much to her dismay, it was definitely not one of her favorite people that came climbing up the stairs, carpet in tow.

"What are you doing up there?" Severus Snape inquired, holding the delinquent magic carpet ('which must have fallen on him,' thought Lily) He was quite curious about why anyone would be hanging from that ledge, and just why a carpet had fallen on his head.

"What do you mean," Lily said breathlessly (her arms were getting tired), "Do you think I'm here for fun? Help me get down!"

"Fine," he grumbled, "I better get an explanation afterwards. Just let go, and I'll catch you."

Lily looked unsurely at the round-shouldered, wormy boy, but, she wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing. She let go, clenching her eyes shut. Snape caught her as he made a grasp for the railing of the stairs. Lily steadied herself and stepped away, so that Snape (who had been holding his breath) could also become stable (if he ever was, she thought). When they were both relatively balanced, Lily said with relief, "Thanks. I owe you one."

Snape shrugged. "I'd do it for anyone, Mudblood. Except for Potter and Black." He sneered; he couldn't possibly let her think he liked someone like her, a Gryffindor and Mudblood to boot. She just smiled sincerely, and started to climb the stairs, when she realized she was face to face with her least favorite person as well as his friends, and a crowd of curious students behind them. After James Potter realized that Lily wasn't dead or worse, he visibly relaxed and asked, "So, where's my carpet?"

"Stay. Away from. Me," she stated, her voice rising as she went on, "You are so dead. Do you realize that now, I'll be traumatized for life?" A few girls nodded sympathetically.

At this, James smirked, "Oh, give me a break, Evans. You should be honored. Most girls would give anything to have been on my carpet." Lily heard a girl, who suspiciously sounded like Marlene, giggle at the thought.

James heard a voice, "Well, it's quite refreshing to see someone who isn't, Potter." James glanced towards the side, and noticed Snape.

"I'm sure you wish you could ride it, Snivellus," spat James, "You probably will never get to fly. You suck as a Quidditch player, and you probably won't ever get your greasy hands on a real magic carpet. So it really shouldn't come as big surprise that I don't care what you think."

Instead of following Snape's and Potter's conversation, Lily persisted, and turned towards Remus and Sirius, "No one even bothers to ask me how _I'm_ doing! I'm the one bloody flying on bloody Potter's bloody carpet at a bloody 200 bloody kilometers an hour!"

Remus looked guilty. "Sorry, Lily. We were all really worried, it's just, well…" he trailed off as he noticed Sirius focusing intently on James and Snape. Lily swiveled around to see to what everyone else was paying so much attention.

"Give me my carpet!" commanded James imperiously.

"I don't think I will, Potter," Snape replied, his lip curling, "I think I'll show this to the headmaster. I'm sure he will agree that it's a perfectly good reason to expel you."

Sirius whipped his wand out, and pointed it at Snape, "Give it, Snivelly."

Unfortunately for Snape, he hadn't brought his wand. He had only planned to go to the potions classroom, down in the dungeons. He reluctantly dropped the carpet and walked angrily away, cursing under his breath.

James picked up the carpet possessively, and turned to Sirius. "Thanks, Padfoot old man. I think we taught Snivelly a lesson."

"As usual," added Sirius with an arrogant smile. Lily showered disgusted looks at them, and turned to Remus.

"I don't know how you can put up with them. They're horrible!"

"Well, they're great friends," he shrugged. "You don't look too good, Lily."

"You could probably use some Pepperup Potion," suggest Sirius, who really was trying to be considerate, since he realized that Evans couldn't have been happy by being forced to fly off on a magic carpet she didn't even know was a magic carpet. Instead of being grateful, however, Lily glared at him.

"How can you even mention Pepperup Potion to me right _now_, Black?" she hissed, her green eyes flashing indignantly.

James laughed, "Oh yeah! You were actually rendered speechless when you took that, uh, stuff you called Pepperup Potion!" He stopped laughing when a livid Lily (she had been through quite a lot that day already) smacked him hard on the face.

"And I hope that hurt as much as I did when I was flying on that bloody carpet!" With that, Lily stomped off, hoping to find her friends soon.

James called out, "We'll go on our date later, Evans dear!" Several guys guffawed, but Lily did not deign him a response. She would not let him ruin her Christmas holiday, even if he was ruining her day. Unfortunately, Lily didn't come upon her friends until she was half-way to the common room.

"Oh, Lily!" cried Alice, in tears, "You're all right!" She embraced Lily in her usual motherly way. Lily nodded; she was exhausted.

"We were ready to kick James' arse if we didn't find you. They took much longer than those five minutes, Alice," Emmeline stated, in a righteous rage.

"Well, it's no thanks to Potter or his friends!" Lily said with fury.

"Who helped you then?" inquired Emmeline.

"Severus Snape."

"But he's a Slytherin!" exclaimed Alice.

"Well, he did. Don't ask me why. But he said he'd do it for anyone except Potter and Black."

"How odd," murmured Emmeline, trying to figure out why Snape had helped Lily. Alice decided to change the subject.

"How exactly did you get onto the carpet, Lil?" asked Alice with concern, wondering if it was another one of Potter's strange attempts to get Lily to go out with him.

"The carpet was on the floor, and all other seats were full so I sat on the floor, where it was lying," answered Lily, "and Potter even told me not to sit there. But how was I to know that that was the reason?"

"Potter is an arsehole," pronounced Emmeline, the girls nodded unanimously.

* * *

At dinner that night, the whole school was a-buzz with Lily's trip on the magic carpet. Word had gotten around that it was Potter's, and more girls than ever were gathered around him in awe of how he managed to get "one of those magic carpets."

Lily was disgusted. Unfortunately for her, she also was sharing some of the fame, ('or infamy, more like,' she thought to herself). Several boys were telling her how brave she was and how they wished they had been there to help her. She told them that she wished she hadn't had to have been brave, and that none of this had ever happened. One particularly annoying boy by the name of Gilderoy Lockhart had actually patted her on the head. He was in the hospital wing for a week. But the worst moment had to have been when Potter came strutting up to Lily and had asked his favorite question.

"So, Evans—will you go out with me?" He said this in the most deep and charming voice he could muster, but instead of what he wanted to hear, she smacked him again.

"Look, I know you want to touch me, Evans," he laughed forcefully, "But really, you shouldn't be so aggressive." The boys around erupted in laughter at his gibe and Lily's face. It was flickering between anger and trying to control herself. Then, a strange thing happened, and Lily thought it was a very wonderful thing. It certainly saved her the trouble of getting back at the Slytherins.

All the Slytherins were burping like there was no tomorrow. They simply could not stop. Lily found herself laughing along with the rest of the school. She particularly noticed some of the Slytherins who had made fun of her while she was flying on the magic carpet burping. Vengeance was sweet. Then she realized Potter was staring at her with a self-satisfied expression on his face.

"I think that earns me a kiss, Evans. That was a Marauder's prank," James said smugly.

"No, that earns you nothing, which is a lot better than you deserve," Lily replied, her green eyes flashing dangerously. "Because now, _I_ don't have to get back at them." She, along with her friends, stood up and walked towards the doors of the Great Hall as they had finished dinner quickly in order to end Lily's misery. Naturally, James thought it fitting to follow her.

"Stop stalking me, Potter," Lily commanded, "Or I will do something to you. Like—" But Lily never got to finish her sentence, because James took her face in his hands and kissed her. Not kissing him back, Lily pushed him away, livid with rage, and slapped him several times.

"Kiss me," he finished weakly, rubbing the sore spot on his face.

"Darn you Potter!" she screamed. "How dare you!"

He looked at her with disbelief. No girl had ever turned him down after he had kissed her. Then, he shrugged, "You're standing under mistletoe. You couldn't possibly expect me not to take full advantage of that."

She shook with anger and whispered as she looked up where the cursed mistletoe hung, "You stole my first kiss, Potter. I hope you're happy." Alice put a comforting arm around Lily's trembling shoulders, while Emmeline walked right up to James and slapped him again for good measure, with blue eyes ice cold with steely anger.

"You stay away from her, Potter. She doesn't need arrogant jerks like you messing up her life." After saying that, she joined a crying Lily and a motherly Alice as they made their way back to the common room.

The other Marauders walked up to an incredulous James, and Sirius patted him on the back saying, "That's a first." They began walking toward the common room as well, keeping a safe distance from the three girls.

James sighed and said with determination, "I'll get her to like me yet. I'm James Potter; no mere girl can resist me for long."

"But Evans isn't a mere girl," said Sirius, "She's more like fire."

"Mess with fire, you get burned," cautioned Remus.

Peter's eyes grew wide, "Really?"

"And you really shouldn't have kissed her either, Prongs," added Remus, glancing over at Peter like Peter was mental (which of course he was, and is).

"Well I guess I thought I could get some _flames_ of passion," said James bitterly, knowing his pun was not misplaced. "The most unbelievable part of it is that was her first kiss."

"Are you serious?" asked Sirius, a mischievous grin creeping across his face.

"No," gibed James, "You are." Sirius mentally slapped himself for ever cracking that joke.

"You do realize that you got something priceless from her. Right, Prongs?" inquired Sirius. "Girls treasure their first kisses; they think they're special for some reason—some weird mental thing they all have."

"Makes sense—because I'm darn special," James replied with a conceited grin.

"But you're going to apologise, aren't you, _James_?" asked Remus, stressing the James, as if to remind James that he was becoming a man.

"Well, I really think she owes me an apology," James responded stubbornly.

"I would if I were you, Prongs," offered Sirius unexpectedly, "She might kill you otherwise."

"She's right good with hexes," Peter added solemnly. They all turned to him and looked at him with bewilderment.

"How would you know?" the other three asked curiously.

"Well," Peter began uncomfortably, biting his fingers, "She's a prefect."

"We know that," James said snappishly.

"Um, I saw her hex this Slytherin couple once who wouldn't go back to their dormitory after curfew. They were um…er…yes…" He drifted off with embarrassment.

"Making out?" offered James mischievously. Peter nodded self-consciously.

Sirius sensed embarrassment and jumped on his case, "Why were you there, Wormtail?"

"If you must know," Peter said heatedly, "I was serving remediary potions that night."

"Oh," they all said, deciding not to hurt Peter's feelings by commenting any more on that situation, since Peter wasn't as bright as they were.

They had arrived at the portrait hole, and after saying the password, (Munching Munchkins), the Marauders entered a deserted common room, since everyone else was still in the Great Hall eating. Sirius sighed, he hadn't finished eating when James had messed up. "I'm hungry." Just then, Dorcas Meadowes entered the room, looking quite pretty, Sirius thought. He looked her up and down, and then turned to an inattentive James, "I'm not hungry anymore." Remus snorted.

"Come on, James. Go knock on Lily's dormitory door." James grinned, because he knew something Remus didn't.

"Why don't you?" he asked Remus.

"You're the one who made her mad," Remus replied, smiling wryly because he thought the idea of James being scared was humorous.

"You can't go up the girls' dormitory stairs. They flatten out into a slide," Sirius declared, unwittingly messing up James' prank on Remus. James gave him the evil eye.

"Aaah. I see," Remus said, a devious smile on his face. "Trying to get me to fall down on my face, eh, Prongs?"

"It would have been terribly amusing, Moony," replied James, also grinning deviously.

"Oh, come off it,"Sirius said brusquely, watching Dorcas idly sit down on the sofa to read a Witch Weekly. "You know that to get to a girl's room you just use your broom."

"How do you know?" asked Peter in awe.

James snorted. "We all know what a reputation Sirius has with the ladies."

"I'm sure you've serenaded them from your broomstick," chuckled Remus. The vision of Sirius singing from his broomstick to some lucky girl was quite humorous.

"Get on with it!" barked Sirius, blushing as he met Dorcas' hazel eyes staring at them with amusement. Apparently James and Remus weren't the only ones who found the situation funny.

The Marauders filed up to their dorm to retrieve the broom for James. When they had all come back down, they saw that Dorcas wasn't on the sofa anymore, and that Lily was coming down the stairs with purpose. When she saw the broomstick she rolled her eyes.

"Dorcas said that you were coming to apologise to me, Potter. Something about serenading me on your broomstick." At this, she laughed convulsively. "To think Frank always said your singing was atrocious. Let's hear it then."

James looked at the other Marauders behind him, not knowing what to do. Dorcas was going to pay during Quidditch practice. He had only planned to fly up to her dorm, say sorry, and hope that she would snog him senseless. Now he had to serenade her? Sirius and Remus chortled uncontrollably behind him, having to give support to each other. Peter was staring dumbly at James, wondering why he would sing to Lily.

"Well?" asked Lily testily.

"I—um—I mean," James tried embarrassedly.

"You were saying?" Sirius said, a devilish grin pasted on his handsome face.

"Ah—yes! I'll sing…" he drifted off. "You decide." He thought letting her decide was brilliant. It would make her feel important. He saw her green eyes sparkling mischievously. 'Uh oh,' he thought, ruing the moment that had possessed him to kiss her.

You will sing "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," she replied evilly. "But first, I want you to apologise loudly and sincerely, knees on the ground." Right then, all the Gryffindors were flooding back into the common room, and were watching the spectacle with delight.

James grudgingly got on his knees, trying to compose himself back to his usual level of nonchalance. "I am very sorry for kissing you." He didn't sound sorry, and she didn't seem satisfied.

"And?" she persisted.

"And for putting the magic carpet on the floor of the common room."

"And?"

"What else did I do?" he demanded, his irritation out-stripping his nonchalance.

"You have no idea," Lily said through gritted teeth. But then she sighed and said, "Alright. I accept that, although I'm still mad about all the other unfathomably horrible things you've done to me these past five years."

"So, Prongsie—how about serenading Lily?" suggested Remus, smiling in a way the Gryffindors didn't see to often on the most serious of the Marauders.

"Ah yes. _I want a hippopotamus for—"_ Lily cut him off.

"I'm hurt, Potter. You're supposed to do it on your broom." James sighed in defeat. He would never live this down. Alice and Emmeline, hearing all the commotion, came down to see James mounting his broom, and then singing,

"_**I want a hippopotamus for Christmas  
Only a hippopotamus will do  
Don't want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy  
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy **_

_**I want a hippopotamus for Christmas  
I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you?  
He won't have to use our dirty chimney flue  
Just bring him through the front door,  
that's the easy thing to do **_

_**I can see me now on Christmas morning,  
creeping down the stairs  
Oh what joy and what surprise  
when I open up my eyes  
to see a hippo hero standing there **_

_**I want a hippopotamus for Christmas  
Only a hippopotamus will do  
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses  
I only like hippopotamuses  
And hippopotamuses like me too **_

**_Mom says the hippo would eat me up, but then  
Teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian _**

_**There's lots of room for him in our two-car garage  
I'd feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage **_

_**I can see me now on Christmas morning,  
creeping down the stairs  
Oh what joy and what surprise  
when I open up my eyes  
to see a hippo hero standing there **_

**_I want a hippopotamus for Christmas  
Only a hippopotamus will do  
No crocodiles or rhinoceroses  
I only like hippopotamuses  
And hippopotamuses like me too!"_**

During this strange and rare episode, Emmeline, with great presence of mind, grabbed her video camera that her parents had given her for her birthday last year, and taped the entire thing, realizing that she now had the ultimate Christmas present for Lily.

James quickly got off the broom, and bowed to his applauding and laughing audience, some of whom were in tears (also known as the Marauders, Lily, Emmeline, and Alice). He escaped the crowd and scurried up to his room, throwing himself into the shower (maybe he would drown), whom he considered his only friend at that moment, although the other Marauders and Frank soon followed him and didn't really help at cheering him up, since Remus and Sirius kept saying "hippopotamus' or 'broomstick' which would cause them to go into fits of laughter.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lily, along with the rest of her dormitory, was laughing her head off. Never had she seen James so embarrassed. He always was so proud and loved any attention, because 'he's an arrogant, attention-seeking prat,' she thought to herself.

And as she fell asleep that night, Lily's last thought, before she began dreaming wonderful dreams of James's singing "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," was: 'Potter ruined and made my day all at the same time. Who ever could have dreamed that up?' And she fell asleep, with a satisfied and happy smile on her fair, freckled face.

Y'all- can you please review? I love hearing what y'all think, and it really makes my day! Also, as you can see, I wrote this chapter more quickly than last time, thanks to your reviews. So anyways, review-PhoenixPlume


	9. Holly, Jolly Christmas

Hey! I know, I know—I've taken waaaay too long but it's been so hectic and I've been so tired and I didn't want to write you something crappy so here it is. And as a treat, James is going to be much nicer due to the fact that it's Christmas…I've decided he shall have some days in which he and Lily are almost friends b/c that's only natural. But he'll go back to being his lovely full-of-it self next chapter. This chapter is pretty fluffy simply because I felt that they all needed a break from life-threatening accidents (poor Lily!) Only about five more chapters (after this one) to go until the end of fifth year! Then sixth year shall begin, with much more adventurous action in it b/c I can only write so much fluffy action (although it will also have fluffy action). So yeah…please let me know how you liked this chapter…I think it shows James' nicer side and that he and Lily CAN get along sometimes. -PhoenixPlume

* * *

Christmastime 

Snow fell down softly and thickly on Christmas Eve, covering the frozen window panes of Gryffindor tower. The remaining Gryffindors were lounging around the red and gold common room, vying to win the position closest to the merrily crackling fire. Lily lay in an overstuffed armchair, sipping cider and reading a good book. She sighed happily as she turned the page.

"Lily!" exclaimed Alice, her brown eyes dancing with anticipation. "We just had a stupendous idea!"

Lily turned towards her excited friend, and answered with, "Mmmm?"

Alice and Emmeline beamed and glanced towards each other, "We should bake Christmas cookies!"

"That's a great idea!" jumped in Sirius, who cheekily wrapped his arm around Emmeline, his latest pursuit. He had decided that she would be a challenge, a change for him.

"We didn't say you could come," Emmeline retorted, glaring at him as she shrugged his arm off of her. "What do you think, Lils?"

Lily's eyes twinkled at Black's facial expression after Emmeline had cast away his arm. "I have to agree with Black. It's an absolutely marvolous idea."

"Does that mean I can come?" asked Sirius, giving the three girls puppy eyes. Alice, ever the softy, gave in with a smile.

"I suppose; but don't let Potter come too. He and Lily will have some sort of row."

"Let's go!" urged Lily, noticing that Potter and Remus (Peter was participating in a snowball fight with some fourth years) were staring with curiosity at the huddle the girls and Sirius had made. "Before they follow us!" Sirius looked sadly at his fellow troublemakers, but knew that Alice was right about Lily and James fighting.

"Right," agreed Emmeline and they headed towards the portrait hole, but not before Potter interrupted their escape.

"Where are you going, Padfoot? I thought you wanted to go caroling," James said, a mischievous smile spreading on his bespectacled face.

"Got places to go, people to see," Sirius eyed Emmeline suggestively, "Things to do. I'll see you guys later." Potter grinned at Sirius' implied meaning.

Emmeline rolled her eyes but could not bring herself to frown at such a great excuse, which she thought would surely make Potter stop this interrogation.

"But then, why the entourage?" asked the persistent James, his eyebrow raised. He focused on Lily and started to realize that something must be up since she was impatiently tapping her foot.

"Um…because…" Sirius drifted off, avoiding the girls' and the Marauders' eyes. "Wow! Would you look at that storm out there."

"Seriously, Sirius. You're getting a bit rickety at coming up with diversions. What's up?" Remus asked, a wry smile on his face.

"Wow! You made a pun! _Seriously, Sirius_," he laughed weakly, but stopped when he recognized James' "you better tell or else" look. "Okay, well I thought it was funny."

Emmeline snorted. Lily glanced at the other girls and decided to just tell them, "We're going to the kitchens to make Christmas cookies. We didn't want Black (at this Sirius looked hurt and mouthed "Sirius!") okay fine, Sirius to tell you because Potter and I don't really mix too well."

"Well, it's not my fault," said James irritably, "You're the one who won't go out with me, even though I'm obviously the sexiest guy in the whole school." Sirius looked highly affronted at this remark. He muttered, "After me."

"And you're the one with the head about to _explode_ because it's so full of yourself," retorted Lily, fire in her verdant eyes.

"Well, you're the one with the _explosive_ temper," James replied.

Alice the peacemaker exclaimed in exasperation, "Can you two just call it a truce until Christmas is over? I am so sick of these rows you all keep having!"

They all looked in surprise at Alice, who had been silent ever since she had agreed to letting Sirius come on the girls' cookie-making expedition. Lily spoke up quickly, "I will if Potter will stop asking me out."

Potter glared doggedly at Lily but finally relented with, "Fine."

"Good," said Remus in a saccharin-sweet voice, "Now—"

"COOKIES!" shouted Sirius, clasping his hands exultingly.

"Yes, Sirius, that's what they're called," Emmeline gibed, as she followed impatient Lily out the portrait hole. The Marauders followed. Lily turned and put her hands on her hips.

"Did we say you three could come?"

"It was implied," James responded, "And surely you could use our sought-after company!"

"Potter…" Emmeline began threateningly. He shut his mouth quickly after the egotistical comment. Lily had quickened her pace (she did that when she was angry) and was now two feet ahead of the others. James quickly caught up to her and extended his hand with a sincere smile.

"Look, Ev-Lily, I'm sorry I irritated you. See—I'll be a perfect gentleman the rest of the evening…just don't get used to it." The mischievous gleam reappeared in his hazel eyes, hidden behind glasses that had been through as much as their owner.

Lily gave him a small smile and took his hand. "Alright, Potter. I mean, James. We can call it a truce today. Just remember, as soon as you start being a berk again it's back to angry Evans for you. And no torturing Snape."

James savored holding Lily's hand—why did she have to mention Snivellus to ruin his beautiful moment? James had some strange suspicions about Snape. Snape's helping Lily had been viewed as quite extraordinary by others besides James. It made him wonder… "Didn't I get enough comeuppance after that hippo song?" Lily folded her arms together in a "determined to have my way" manner. So, James subsided with, "Okay, I'll try to leave the greasy git alone," Man, her hand was soft and much smaller than his. He liked holding it very much.

Lily pulled her hand away from him, and replied, "Be sure that you do. He did help me out there with the carpet incident." James looked away, having enough humility to be somewhat embarrassed that it had been his fault in the first place that Lily had had to be helped by Snivellus.

Emmeline's voice rang out with, "We're here!"

"I'll do the honors," offered Sirius, smiling down at Emmeline, who returned the gesture on a smaller scale. Sirius tickled the pear on the painting of fruit hiding the kitchens, and the painting swung open revealing a spacious, sparkling kitchen. As the Gryffindors stepped into the room, they shed their winter cloaks; the kitchens were a warm change from the cold, drafty hallways throughout the rest of Hogwarts. The house-elves ushered them in, and offered them food. Sirius was accepting when Emmeline cut in with, "No, we actually would like to make Christmas cookies."

"So what kind of cookies are we making?" inquired James. "I've never made Christmas cookies before."

Lily looked at him in disbelief, "You've never made Christmas cookies?" James shook his head.

Alice took pity on James and answered his question, "At my house, we make sugar cookies and spread colored icing on them."

"Well…" James said slowly, looking down for once, "We never need to make cookies at Christmas because the house-elves do it."

Remus smiled, "I would have invited you over, James, if I'd known."

"We don't have any happy traditions in my family like that—except decapitating our house-elves whenever they get too old to work. Rather bloody business, really," Sirius remarked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Shhh," hushed Lily, glancing at the house-elves. "They could hear you! Well, let's get started then, shall we?"

"I'll get the flour," volunteered Emmeline, turning towards a house-elf. "Where do I get it?" The house-elf took her hand and led her into a small storage room. The others looked at each other, standing there dumbly, until Sirius spoke up.

"I'll get the sugar!" he volunteered with excitement obvious in his gray eyes.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Padfoot," laughed Remus as he side-stepped Sirius and asked a house-elf where the sugar was.

"Right here, Mr. Lupin," replied the tiny elf, whipping out a 20 pound bag of sugar. Sirius looked like he had just won the lottery, except, he didn't know what the lottery was. Emmeline re-entered the main kitchen just in time to help keep the sugar out of harm's way, namely Sirius.

"No, Sirius," Emmeline reprimanded as she snatched Sirius' hand away from his one focus of attention, the bag of sugar.

Sirius smirked at her knowingly, "Coming up with excuses to hold my hand, eh, Em? There must be a broom-closet here somewhere."

Emmeline glared at him, but smiled lightly as she said, "Thanks. Now we know where to put you in order to make you shut up."

"I'd be mighty quiet if you were in there with me, Emmy darling," Sirius grinned conceitedly, eyeing James with amusement. James had been trying to get Lily to let him help.

"No, James. When you crack the egg to make the icing, you don't put the egg-shells in," the others heard Lily's amused voice explaining to James.

"Crikey! And all these years I thought that was why cookies were crunchy." Lily laughed.

"No, that's because the heat makes the dough crispy—it has nothing to do with the egg-shells." Alice joined them and watched as Lily was stirring a mixture of egg, flour, and sugar, and "Could you find some orange-peel, Alice?"

"Oh! You put orange-peel in your cookies too?" asked Alice happily.

"My grandmother did, so I do too. Hers are the best! Although, her cookies are still superior to mine."

"I doubt that," declared James, observing Lily's stirring with admiration.

"Why, is James Potter actually complimenting me?" asked Lily in mock-shock.

"You lucky girl, you," James said, playing along, as he stroked his hair with an air of smugness. Lily gave him a warning look.

"Number one rule of thumb," began Alice, "Don't touch anything unsanitary when you're cooking, such as HAIR or else you have to wash your hands." She pointed to the sink. "Second rule of thumb, don't make the cook mad." She glanced towards Lily who had begun rolling the dough.

"Good point," agreed James as he went off to wash his hands. Remus entered their area and asked if he could help.

"After we finish making the cookies, you can help ice them," replied Emmeline, turning away from Sirius who was still trying to convince her to join him in a local broom-closet. "Can I help, Lils?"

"Yes—how about you use those cookie-cutters. I got out the Christmas trees, Santas, bells, and stars."

"Aye, aye, Captain," smiled Emmeline. James returned, and nicked some uncooked dough, earning him a glare from the usually mild Alice.

"That wasn't cooked, James. You could get sick, you know," Alice cautioned in manner evocative of a mother hen.

"He's immune," offered Sirius, "Ever since I gave him that milk with five uncooked egg-yolks, he's been okay with uncooked eggs." The girls looked at him in shock. Lily spoke first.

"You could have killed him!"

"I love you too, Lily," James said in a smug voice.

"No one asked you," growled Lily, turning to Sirius, "Didn't he get sick?"

"Um…well…" drifted Sirius.

"He was up-chucking for a while," Remus said with a wry smile. He sniffed the cookie-fragrant air with anticipation

Sirius added quickly, "But he was okay the week after that!"

Emmeline rolled her piercing, blue eyes at him. "Honestly, Sirius. You'd think you two were brothers or something."

"As a matter of fact," Sirius said, "I live with the Potters when I'm not at school."

"Oh," murmured Lily, wrinkling her eyebrows, "Why?"

"I ran away," Sirius replied brusquely, "The cookies ready yet?"

Remus checked the oven, "Yeah—they look about right. Shall I take them out Lily?"

"Sure," Lily responded, checking her watch. "We need to ice those soon."

"But won't they take a long time to cool?" demanded James.

"I'm a witch, James," Lily said slowly and deliberately, in a way that hinted her doubt in his intelligence.

"She'll perform a cooling charm, James," Alice explained.

"Maybe she should perform one on her temper," James mumbled rebelliously, not looking at Lily.

"What did you say, James?" Lily asked icily.

"Nothing," he replied, a little too quickly.

"I'm sure," laughed Emmeline, turning to Sirius who was poking her in the back.

"Sure of what?" asked Sirius, a smile slowly forming on his face, "Of us?"

"There is no _us_, Sirius," Emmeline laughed, "It's just _you_ and _yourself_ falling in love with each other."

"Is not—I WANT COOKIES!" The cookies were hot; their delicious aroma wafted temptingly throughout the white-washed kitchen. Remus and James stopped Sirius mid-stride from taking the scaldingly hot cookies. Lily calmly pointed her wand at the cookies and performed the cooling spell. The boys loosened their hold on Sirius and Emmeline lifted the cookie sheet and put them on the counter. The Gryffindors began adding color to the icing, and then proceeded to spread the brilliant frosting on the cookies.

"I think you're spreading more on your fingers than your cookie, Sirius," observed Lily, laughing as he licked his fingers.

"That's disgusting!" exclaimed Alice and Emmeline at the same time.

"How dare you call Lily's icing disgusting!" reprimanded Sirius defensively. Lily rolled her eyes.

"You know exactly what they're talking about, Sirius." Remus took advantage of their distraction to lick some icing off his finger.

"It's not like he's going to admit it though," James stated, sneaking a glob of gooey icing into his mouth. "You're a good cook, Lily!"

"You're not supposed to know that yet, James," Alice remonstrated. "Did you have more icing?"

Remus grinned at James and James grinned at Sirius, who in turn, grinned at Emmeline with puppy eyes. Emmeline looked at the disapproving Alice. Alice surveyed them all with an amused expression. "Are you all afraid of what I'm going to do to you? Come on, it's me. Not Lily, remember?" They all smiled (even Lily) and relaxed.

"Pass that silly icing over here, Sirius," commanded Alice, her brown eyes dancing with fun.

* * *

Christmas morning dawned brightly in the Gryffindor dorm. James burst out of his bed like a jack does out of its box as the first rays pierced the red velvet draperies hanging from his four-poster bed. He shoved his wire-rimmed glasses up his nose, threw on a warm robe since it was chilly, and grabbed a bucket filled with icy water.

Sirius Black was lying peacefully, albeit snoring, in his four poster in the fetal position. Just as he launched another loud snore, he felt an unwelcome wet freezing mass collide onto his face. Sirius cracked his left eye open to see a familiar sight: James looming over his bed, an impish grin on his face. "Merry Christmas, Padfoot!" Sirius' mood swung from negative 1000 to positive 2000.

He yelled, "PRESENTS!" In the process of doing his strange victory dance and yelling, he awoke Remus and Peter. Peter instantly fell off the bed, grumbling about not being invited to have cookies the night before. Remus calmly got up and sidled over to his stocking, murmuring, "Merry Christmas," sleepily. Frank had gone home for the holiday.

Sirius and James were already rummaging through their stockings. "Mr. Beard's Whisker Wonders!" James cried out exultantly. "Thanks, Sirius!" Sirius had other things on his mind.

"A Trickster's Guide to Escaping School!" exclaimed Sirius, his gray eyes dancing triumphantly. "At last, a complete guide to skipping classes with legitimate reasons! It's all here! The instructions to create the common cold, the fever, or pneumonia! Thanks, James!"

Meanwhile, much the same was occurring in the girls' dorm. Alice stirred first, she smiled happily to herself as she leapt up out of her bed, heading towards her stocking with anticipation. She nudged Emmeline and Lily—she didn't want to open the presents without them. "Bleaagh," murmured Lily sleepily, "'S not time tuh geddup yeh…" Emmeline, on the other hand, after a few grunts, sat bolt upright and shouted (forgetting not to wake Marlene and Dorcas) "It's Christmassssssssssss!"

"Bloody morning people," groaned Lily testily.

"But it's Christmas!" exclaimed Emmeline happily, pulling the covers off of her slothful friend.

"Everyone's a morning person on Christmas!" agreed Alice chipperly. Dorcas and Marlene headed immediately for the bathroom to take a shower, as was their habit. They both swore on their Witch Weekly's that they weren't able to do anything unless they were clean.

"Christmas?" repeated Lily thickly. She opened her eyes curiously, and smiled brilliantly. "Oh yeah! 'Cause yesterday was Christmas Eve!"

"Yeah, Lils; Christmas Eve always comes before Christmas," remarked Emmeline, grinning at the completely out-of-it Lily. Lily wobbled out of bed, happy as the rest.

"Well, what are you all standing there for? It's time for presents!"

* * *

Christmas breakfast at Hogwarts was always an adventurous affair—each year had its own flavor. Besides the usual snowflakes falling realistically from the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall and the usual crackers, Hagrid had surprised everyone by dressing as Santa. Instead of rows of crackers on the tables, he passed out specific crackers to each person. He eyes James with mischief. "I hear yore pretty good a' singin,' James," he commented cheekily. James blushed, something he didn't often do, as he accepted his cracker. It burst open with a purple plush hippo. Everyone who had witnessed James' strange singing scene errupted in laughter. James gave them a lethal glare, daring them to say anything (and no one wanted to be on the receiving end of one of the Marauders' pranks) and hurried to sit down at the Gryffindor table. Lily's cracker, on the other hand, revealed a monkey singing "Magic Carpet Ride" by the Who. She laughed along with the rest (she liked the Who), although she remembered her humiliating flying experience with bitterness.

When Lily, Alice, and Emmeline had each received a cracker (and it had exploded), they made their way over to the Gryffindor table, and wound up sitting across from the Marauders. Lily couldn't resist asking, "Did you get what you wanted for Christmas, James? You told us repeatedly that only a hippopotamus would do."

"Did you enjoy your "Magic Carpet Ride" song by the Whiches or Whatever's?" returned James. Alice sighed; she knew their good terms were too good to last.

"It's the Who," Lily stated, rolling her eyes at his ignorance.

"That's a ruddy name."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"IS NOT!"

"What are you all talking about?" demanded Remus, who had just come from receiving his cracker.

"Oh no, Moony," James said sarcastically, "It's not the What, it's the Who."

"Oh, stow it, Potter," Lily said irritably.

"Oh, so I'm Potter again, huh, _Evans_?" asked James.

"I suppose so," said Lily. "If you claim to like me so much, how come you're such a prat to me, Potter?"

"I like arguing with you," he responded casually. "I like how you look when you try to outsmart me. It's cute."

"How—" began Lily, "You're not going to get a rise out of me. It's Christmas. What did you get in your cracker, Emmeline?"

"I got an apple pie—it looks delicious!"

"How come you got something good?"

"Because Santa knew I wanted some!" interrupted Sirius, trying to snatch the pie from beneath Emmeline's nose.

"That's not the way to win a girl's heart, Sirius," Emmeline reprimanded, sternly fixing her blue eyes in Sirius's gray ones. He procured some mistletoe and held it over her head.

He murmured, "If I can't get you in a broom-closet, this is the only way…" and he planted a wet one on her cheek. Surprisingly, Emmeline didn't slap him—she merely blushed.

In general, Christmas was peaceful and happy. The New Year seemed sure to be a wonderful one. Little did they all know…

Review! I love hearing from you! (hey—that rhymes!)


	10. News

Howdy! This chapter is a little darker so there isn't as much humor as usual. I couldn't really make it too humorous, but there are lighter parts. And also, there is something you won't be expecting so let me know what you think…I also made a mistake on Emmeline's eyes which are blue, not gray in my last chapter (I was really tired when I wrote). Only like four more chapters until the end of fifth yearcannot wait! Then onwards to sixth and seventh! Anyways, read and enjoy! Remember to review and let me know what you think of my jab at drama! –PhoenixPlume

* * *

**Ch. 9 News**

The Marauders entered the Great Hall late, because it was a Saturday morning. The sound of the daily post reverberated throughout the Great Hall. James searched for his owl (Quaffles) and noticed that many students were opening Daily Prophets. "Strange," he thought, as he made his way along with Sirius, Remus, and Peter to the Gryffindor table, his eyes lingering on a certain red-head.

Lily had just untied the Daily Prophet, when Alice and Emmeline heard an audible gasp escape the masses of students and teachers in the hall.

"Girls," whispered Lily, her green eyes heavy with fear, "Look." She pointed to an article titled, "Mass Murder of Muggleborns by Self-Declared Dark Lord." Emmeline's blue eyes grew wide with shock at the headline and the grotesque image of a skeletal mask with a cavernous mouth issuing forth a snake. The sign of this powerful dark lord.

"Oh my God," she cried. She turned to an anxious Alice. "Do you realize what this means?" Alice could only nod as she faced Lily. She noticed the strained look in Lily's normally very expressive eyes. Her eyes gave her the appearance of one who had just lost a friend.

"Are you okay, Lily?" asked Alice with worry.

"How can anyone want to kill off a group of people because of their blood?" she demanded, standing as she faced the entire Gryffindor table. She pushed out her chair and sprinted out of the Great Hall. Many of the Gryffindors were astonished at her reaction, since the majority of the students were either dealing with it quietly at the table or rejoicing (Slytherins). The surprised Gryffindors looked over at Lily's stalwart friends who were exchanging apprehensive looks.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" As if to answer their question, Albus Dumbledore, who happened to be passing by their table, said, "Miss Evans is in shock and probably just needs to be alone. Everyone deals with shock differently." The girls nodded, fretting about their friend nonetheless. James wasn't so easily put off. He jumped out of his chair, giving Quaffles a bit of a biscuit which the owl nibbled gratefully. As he began making his way swiftly to the exit, Emmeline and Alice leapt out of their places to apprehend the impetuous youth.

"James, she needs to be alone. Lily deals with stuff like this in her own, alone kind of way," Alice said in the calmest voice she could muster.

"And you're not exactly her favorite person," added Emmeline, bluntly as ever.

"Someone needs to make sure she doesn't go do something dangerous," James stated, his usually arrogant voice toned down to something only the Marauders had ever heard: concern. James could float his way through classes and Quidditch, but when it came to people he loved, he'd do anything, be it rash, to help them.

Emmeline laughed sarcastically, "This coming from the king of breaking rules! I must remind myself to give you more credit for your regard of Lily."

Alice took in the emotion in James' hazel eyes, "James, Lily really needs to come to grips with it herself." At the word "grips," Emmeline started hyperventilating. She had tried to hold it in before, but now she just couldn't take it anymore.

"Why is this happening? This psychopath just wants to kill me, Lily, and other people like us because of our blood? It's so…so…"

James sighed, "It's sick. Some purebloods, like the Slytherins for instance," he scowled in the Slytherins' direction, "Want to rid the wizarding world of Muggleborns, to make it "pure" of dirtiness."

Alice patted Emmeline on the back as Emmeline started to cry uncontrollably. Emmeline was so used to everything being in her control, but she had lost even that to this psychopath.

Sirius came over to where they were standing, and placed his arm protectively around the crying Emmeline. He was happily surprised when Emmeline burrowed closer to him. She whispered, "Thanks for being here for me, Sirius." He smiled, blind to all the envious glares Emmeline was receiving.

"Hate to be the one to break up this, um, moment," coughed James with accustomed laughter reappearing in his eyes, "But, I just wanted to let you know, I'm going to do some stuff I need to do. See you later." Emmeline and Sirius nodded as they headed back toward the Gryffindor table, Emmeline sitting where James had been, and Alice going off to find Frank.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lily was racing through the oak doors towards the Quidditch pitch. She didn't stop running until she had secured a school broom, which she mounted expertly. Unbeknownest to most of her house, or for that matter, her school, Lily was quite a capable flyer. In times of great emotional stress, she liked to fly on her own, knowing that it was one of the few ways she could release some of the anxiety that had built up in her hectic life.

As Lily zoomed through the air, she dwelt on her troubles. So far, her worries were: doing well in school and making her parents proud, trying to come to some sort of truce with her sister, Petunia, avoiding James Potter, being a good prefect, and, now, not getting horrifically murdered by this powerful assassin trying to rid the wizarding world of people like herself. Lily sighed as she lazily laced in and out of some low-hanging clouds. Despite what was going on outside of the safe haven of Hogwarts, she had to smile; flying made her feel like she was on top of the world, which, of course, she was, in a more literal sense. She was narrowly grazed by the Whomping Willow but made a sharp turn to safety that launched her even higher into the sky. She was day-dreaming without a care in the world when she was jogged out of her imagination by none other than worry #3, James Potter. "Darn!" she thought to herself as she watched the messy-haired boy come after her.

"Evans!" called James, as he followed her strange path through the cloudy sky. Lily smiled mischievously to herself. Up here, she could out-strip him anytime. Her light-weight made her very speedy. She looked back, and grinned impishly at him, a face he had often seen when she was with Alice and Emmeline, but never with him. He surged towards her, but she dived downwards, as if she were a seeker who had found her golden snitch. James laughed and tailed her, but Lily pulled up at the last minute, her laughter tinkling like bells through the wind as she distanced herself from James. After a while, Lily streaked towards earth again, feeling much rejuvenated from her flight. James, seeing her descent, followed.

"How come you never told anyone you can fly like that?" he inquired brusquely. His abnormally large ego had taken a beating that day. He had been out-flown by a girl who had never played Quidditch in her life.

"Unlike you, Potter," laughed Lily, "I don't flaunt my abilities to everyone I exchange words with."

James looked a little put out at this. "Well, I am the best player on our team, as you well know." An evil grin took residence on his face. "That's why you come to the games, Evans dear."

Lily rolled her eyes at him, but merely undid the hair-tie in her wavy, red hair that had fallen out in wisps around her face, making a fiery halo. James couldn't help but watch in admiration as she redid it.

"So, anyways, Evans. I have a proposal for you."

Lily glared at him. "This better not be asking me out, Potter."

"I'm hurt, Evans. You know, I'm not so bad. In fact, I'm pretty darn sexy."

"You're head is too big for my taste," responded Lily dryly. However, her curiosity got the better of her. "What is it, Potter?"

"Are you sure you want to hear it now?" asked James, realizing that Lily was curious and likely to do anything to find out now. "What do I get if I tell you?"

"I'm sure that whatever the proposal is, I'll be helping you, so spit it out," replied Lily, reading James' face correctly as he began running his hands through his unkempt hair. He was thinking, "Darn it, why does she have to be so smart?"

"Okay, Evans. Will you replace the current Seeker on the Gryffindor team?"

Lily looked up at him in surprise. "WHAT?"

"Will you go strut your stuff for the Gryffindor Quidditch captain and ask him if you can replace the current Gryffindor Seeker?"

"You have got to be kidding me," Lily responded, studying James' face for a sign of a joke.

James smiled at her disbelief. "Nope. Quidditch is one the few things I don't kid about."

"Why Seeker? Don't we need a new Keeper too?"

"Because you're the perfect build for a Seeker. And you're faster on a broom than I am. And the broom you were on was _terrible_, no offense."

Lily said, "And I was still faster. It isn't my broom—it's the school's."

"That explains why. Anyways, you'd make a great Seeker."

"But I don't want to have to spend more time with you!" Lily let out in frustration.

"That's just one of the benefits," declared a deep, rich voice. Sirius Black and Emmeline joined the two wind-blown adolescents, who, as usual, were fighting. "If you're with him, you'll get to see me too." Emmeline gave him a look. He quieted down immediately. Lily had to laugh. James could be heard mumbling, "Whipped."

"You remind me of a dog, Sirius. And Emmeline's your owner," Lily observed with amusement.

James and Sirius exchanged glances. Sirius pouted while James laughingly added, "All you need now is a leash, _Padfoot_." Sirius buried his face in the crook of Emmeline's shoulder.

"At least she loves me."

Emmeline laughed, "Don't be such a baby, Sirius." He looked down at her with puppy-eyes. She lightly slapped him on the shoulder, but as she stepped away, he captured her in an affectionate embrace.

"Gotcha," he exclaimed, his gray eyes gleaming devilishly.

Suddenly realizing the strangeness of the whole scene, Emmeline inquired, "Why are you two together?"

"She can't stand being away from me for too long," explained James smugly.

Lily rolled her eyes. "No, it's the other way around, Potter. I was…." Her voice trailed off.

"She was flying!" exclaimed James at Lily's decrescendo in explaining what she had been up to. "And man! Can she fly! I joined her and she's really fast! She's faster than I am!" Although Emmeline didn't seem astonished, Sirius certainly was.

"Wow," acknowledged Sirius, turning to a flustered Lily, "How come you aren't on the team then?"

"Because—because….I DON'T WANT TO!" shouted Lily in exasperation. Why was everyone so adamant about her being on the ruddy Quidditch team?

"But Lils," began Emmeline encouragingly, "You know Alice and I have always told you you'd be great."

"Yeah—_see_!" exclaimed James breathlessly, "I'm not the only one who thinks you're an amazing flyer!"

"Ugh," Lily groaned, she was getting a headache. "It's not that I don't like flying, it's just that I don't want to get killed by a bludger (at this Sirius looked highly affronted, "I'm a very good beater!") and I don't want to get whammed into a Slytherin (Emmeline and James both shook their fists at imaginary Slytherins) and I don't want to fall behind in my classes!"

Remus and Peter entered the scene. Hearing the last part, Remus asked, "What's this about falling behind in your classes, Lily? You're the best in our year!"

Lily gave him a fleeting smile, but didn't have to explain because James, who was growing rather impatient and irritable, answered for her. "Evans can fly! Like—really fly! She'd make an excellent Seeker but she doesn't want to lose her class _ranking_!" (he said this as if it were unthinkable).

"Well, Lily," began Remus, "Quidditch won't get in the way of that! James and Sirius are some of the brightest in our year, after you, and they still play Quidditch." Lily gave Remus a look that clearly stated, "Traitor."

Emmeline, seeing that Lily's red-head temper was about to explode, decided to calm things down a little. "You don't have to join, Lils. But just think! You'd be a much more well-rounded person! And you know that they do take that into account when they pick Head Girl."

Lily actually considered this. Emmeline had a good point. "I'll think about it." James positively glowed at this statement. "I said THINK, Potter. THINK. I know this word is foreign to you, but 'think' means 'consider,' not 'do.'"

"Thinking is better than 'no,'" replied James, glancing at Sirius, who was still holding Emmeline. He wished he were in the same position with Evans…

"Isn't it dinner time?" demanded Peter, bringing everyone back to reality. Lily was absent-mindedly twirling a red streak in her lily-white (A/N: yeah I know but I couldn't resist!) fingers.

"Hm?" she murmured, turning to the direction the noise came from.

James grinned at her, "Dinner time, Evans. Is the phrase foreign to you?" This dig earned him a glare from said red-head.

Emmeline pulled away from Sirius, and linked arms with Lily. "Why don't we go return that broom to the broom shed?" Lily nodded automatically, having returned to her thoughts. So much had happened that day.

As the two girls walked away, James asked the air, "Why doesn't she fall for my charm?"

Remus coughed, "Hmmm…it's this aura you have. It kinda exudes this um…over-confidence that gets to her."

"Well! I can't help it if I'm the sexiest, smartest, most talented guy in this castle!" replied James defensively in a way that showed his friends that he truly believed this. Remus chortled, knowing exactly why Lily hadn't fallen for Jamesyet.

Sirius patted James on the back with sympathy. "After me, Prongsie-boy." Sirius turned around, as if he thought someone had over-heard. Seeing Remus', James', and Peter's inquiring expressions, he said in a low voice, "Emmeline. She doesn't like me to act too vain."

Remus laughed. "Your relationship won't last long then!" Sirius looked at him with wounded pride, transforming into Padfoot and jumping on the werewolf. Seeing this as a sign to transform also, Peter transformed into a rat and scurried up James' leg, which sufficiently convinced him that it really was time for dinner. James shook off the fur-ball and headed back to the castle. Remus and Sirius (back in his human form) followed thereafter. Lastly, Peter scampered after them, huffing at the exertion of his transforming and jogging.

* * *

That night, Lily couldn't help but think about the events of the day. The whole Quidditch thing was so out of the blue. Did Potter really mean it when he thought she could play Seeker? She sighed. Would she fall behind in schoolwork? She couldn't let that happen. But it would be fun to fly more often, other than when she felt like she was going to keel over and die. That was another thing. This Voldemort psycho wanted to kill her, Emmeline, and other Muggleborns. There had to be some way to prepare themselves for his attack. They only lived once, after all…

REVIEW! (YOU KNOW YOU WANNA!) I love y'all very much and it'd be cool if you loved me back and showed it by reviewing! THANKS! -PhoenixPlume


	11. The Times They Are A'Changin'

Hey y'all! I'm sorry this chapter has been so long a'coming (hehe I feel country right now), but it's just been very hectic and I wanted to give you a chapter you deserve. So please be wonderful and review and tell me how you like it. I tried to show more interaction between Alice, Emmeline, and Lily so you can get to know them better. So lots of love, PhoenixPlume

Ch. 10 The Times They Are A'Changing

Lily hummed to herself as she searched the candy-laden shelves at Honeydukes. It was a gorgeous sunny day despite the frigid April weather. Looking up for a moment from her intent study of the new flavors of Fizzing Whizbees, her favorite candy, Lily watched Frank reaching for Alice's hand as they gazed adoringly into each others' eyes. Lily sighed. It was such a shame that the only boy who liked her was Potter. She turned to see Emmeline standing by her.

"What flavor this time, Lils?" inquired Emmeline, with an amused smile. "You've been standing in front of the Fizzing Whizbees for five minutes. What are you thinking about?"

Lily gave her a wry smile. "I just wish some wonderful guy would fall madly in love with me—see how happy Alice and Frank are?"

"Yeah," agreed Emmeline. Then, she smirked. "I'm sure Potter wouldn't object to being called wonderful." Lily rolled her eyes at Emmeline after her smarmy remark.

"Potter wouldn't object to being told that he was the most amazing thing on this earth if someone decided to mention it to him," Lily snorted and muttered just loudly enough to be heard, although Emmeline really wasn't paying attention since she had just seen Sirius, and decided to walk over to the other side of the sweet shop. However, sardonic laughter greeted Lily's ears. She turned around only to see Severus Snape watching her.

"Potter's head is so big it will probably explode sometime soon. His chance at life after the age of twenty is highly unlikely," Snape said somewhat bitterly.

"Quite likely. I guess you aren't part of his fan club, Snape," laughed Lily.

"You don't seem to be either, Evans." volunteered Snape, stepping forward as he spoke in a lower voice. "I guess that's something we have in common."

'What the heck?' thought Lily to herself, confused by Severus's statement. Her disturbing thoughts were interrupted when Potter grabbed Snape by his collar and said in a rough voice, "Don't mess with Evans."

"Potter!" reprimanded Lily, trying to rip his sinewy hands away from Snape's collar. "He wasn't being any more annoying than you are! In fact, you're worse!"

"Oh, so you like Slytherins better than Gryffindors, Evans?" barked James angrily, releasing Snape with a push. "I didn't think you would sink that low."

"What do you mean, _that low?_" demanded Lily in a dangerous voice.

Snape got up, rubbing his neck which had been chafed by his tugged-on collar. "She likes guys who don't piss her off all the time, Potter. So that wouldn't be you," Snape said with an ugly look on his face. Lily glanced at both of them heatedly, before stalking off towards Emmeline, who protectively steered Lily off into a different corner of the shop to check out. James, after giving Snape one last venomous look, made his way back to Sirius. The Slytherin merely exited the shop, leaving behind a disgusted look for James.

"Sicko," growled James to Sirius, who had been staring at the retreating figures of Emmeline and Lily now located too far away for him to have his arm around Emmeline.

"Who?" asked Sirius a little warily. James certainly was easy to irritate these days.

"Snivellus. He's trying to get his hands on Evans!" raged James running his hands through his misbehaving hair out of frustration.

"Evans isn't dumb—she's not going to fall for that slimy Slytherin," declared Sirius in defense of his girlfriend's friend.

"Sure seemed to approve of him more than me," shot back James. "She said I was worse than he was."

"Maybe she's playing hard to get," responded Sirius.

"Well, the game's lasting a very long time," James said darkly.

"Take it in stride. This is Evans we're talking about. She's a headcase. She wasn't screaming with joy when you told her she should join the Quidditch team."

"I have no idea why either. I'm so darn charming you'd think she'd have been swept off her feet the instant I even suggested it," James said self-importantly.

Sirius looked over at Evans, Emmeline, Alice, and Frank, who were standing near the door, obviously about to leave. He sighed. "I better go see what's the plan with Emmeline. Maybe we can join them at the Three Broomsticks." Everyone knew that Sirius and Emmeline were dating, but it wasn't particularly serious.

As Sirius made his way over to them, looking purposefully at Emmeline, Lily turned to Emmeline and asked, "How can you like _his_ friend?"

A deep voice said in reply, "How can you _not_?" The four fifth-year Gryffindors swiveled around to see Sirius, grinning devilishly behind, although his beaming faded when he saw the stern look Emmeline threw at him.

"What are _you_ two doing _here_?" asked Lily, pointedly glaring at James.

"Gryffindors stick with _Gryffindors_," responded James, emphasizing the word Gryffindors. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Surely you know I don't like Snape—because I don't! But don't get any ideas!" Lily added when she saw James' triumphant expression. "Because if I dislike him, I detest you!"

"Children, behave," instructed Alice in her usual motherly way. "No quarreling."

Emmeline laughed. "You're going to make a great mother when you marry Frank, Alice." Everyone laughed, except a blushing Frank and a glaring Alice.

"Maybe we could have a double wedding," suggested James mischievously as he settled his arm around Lily's shoulders, to her great annoyance.

"Don't forget us," added Sirius as he picked Emmeline up as if he were a groom stepping over the threshold, which was very amusing since the Gryffindors had just stepped our the door of the sweet shop. Lily, however wasn't amused because she was still focusing on what James had said and the fact that his arm was much too close for her liking.

"Don't touch me, Potter. And the day we get married is a day that will never come," Lily commanded, shaking his arm off her shoulders immediately.

"What? You don't want them to know of our secret engagement? I see. Sort of like you not wanting to let people know what your decision of joining the Gryffindor Quidditch team is going to be, eh? James gibed mercilessly while Lily began plotting how exactly she would kill James Potter.

"Oh yeah!" joined in Sirius, his gray eyes dancing mischievously. "Have you come to your senses about joining the team next year?"

Lily sighed. They just never stopped. She still wasn't sure. "I'm not sure."

"And I thought it would be such an easy decision!" James exclaimed, running his hand arrogantly through his hair. "You'd get to see me all the time, Evans dear! We wouldn't have to sneak out to see each other in the late hours of the night—not that I don't like those late hours." He smirked at Lily's furious expression. She was so cute when she got mad.

Her green eyes flashing, Lily replied seethingly, "It may be an easy decision for someone as simple-minded as you, Potter, but we with our priorities straight realize how much time out of our studies Quidditch would take. And don't you dare ever talk about me and yourself like that again."

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were afraid, Evans," stated James, grinning deviously at her surprised, then angry expression.

"You don't know what you're talking about! Just because I don't broadcast my decisions everywhere doesn't mean I'm afraid. So you know what? Just **_go away_**! I really don't want to see you right now—or ever! You just love ruining my free-time, and now I'm going to have to see you at Quidditch practice! So just go away!"

Alice and Emmeline looked at Lily in surprise. They had both known that Lily was planning to go to the Quidditch captain and say that she would join, but she had planned on not telling James because he might go on about his animal magnetism and be a pain. The two girls pulled Lily aside and said, "Why did you just tell him?"

"Because! I'm so stressed, and I think I'm going insane!" exclaimed Lily wildly waving her arms. "I really should be studying for O.W.L.'s! They're in a month!" She started breaking down into tears. Alice and Emmeline exchanged expressions, knowing that Lily had something other than Quidditch and O.W.L's on her mind.

"What's wrong, Lils, what's _really_ wrong?" asked Emmeline, piercing Lily's green eyes with her sharp blue ones.

"Can we talk sometime when those boys aren't waiting for us to come back?" asked Lily, her voice quivering uncharacteristically. "We don't have to talk now, Alice. I know how much Hogsmeade with Frank means to you."

Alice waved it away. "No, Lily. You know you and Emmeline are more important than Frank is. At least now," she added dreamily.

Taking command of the situation, Emmeline declared, "I'll go tell them that we won't be going to the Three Broomsticks. We'll be spending some quality time with our best friend who needs to talk to us for _more_ than five minutes."

As Alice continued to comfort Lily, Emmeline walked purposefully towards Frank, Sirius, and James, suddenly wondering where Remus and Peter were. She would find out later…

"Why aren't Lily and Alice with you?" asked Frank anxiously. "Is Lily alright?"

Emmeline smiled at Frank. Alice really had chosen a good guy to be her sweet heart. "Lily needs us. She's going through some emotional stress right now." At this, James looked guilty.

James inquired a bit nervously, "Did I really go that far?" Sirius too seemed a bit fidgety, knowing that he supported James in everything he did.

Emmeline turned to James. "Lily was already acting a bit uptight before you came and pushed her over the edge. Apparently, she's got a lot more on her mind than school and Quidditch, which really are enough as it is."

James looked down. "Oh," he replied.

"So does that mean we won't be going to the Three Broomsticks together?" asked Sirius, voicing Frank's thoughts exactly.

"Yes," Emmeline responded, and then turned to Sirius. "Sorry we can't, Sirius. But Lily's my best friend, and she needs me."

"I do, too!" Sirius said, his eyes regaining their jollity. He wrapped his arms around Emmeline and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek, reminding Emmeline once again of an over-excited puppy. She surprised him when she said, "So long, Padfoot." He stood there, next to a laughing James and non-the-wiser Frank as the tall brunette returned to her friends.

James chortled. "Looks like she thinks you're a dog too, Padfoot. Maybe you'll get lucky and get a leash for Christmas."

Sirius puffed up his chest and cleared his throat. "No, it just means I have animal magnetism."

* * *

Meanwhile, Lily, Alice, and Emmeline wended their way back to Hogwarts while Lily vented.

"Well, it's not just Quidditch, or grades—it's the fact that everything seems to be changing this year," began Lily slowly, feeling a bit better after her outburst.

"This year's nearly over," said Alice quietly. "Things are probably only going to get worse in the department of change."

"Especially with that psychopathic Lord Voldemort person trying to kill Muggleborns," added Emmeline. To this comment, Lily reacted swiftly.

"Yes!" responded Lily, her green eyes beaming brightly at what she was about to say. "That's one of my main worries—besides school of course. I've been thinking that we should start a small club where we can learn hands-on dueling."

"That's a brilliant idea, Lil! Then at least we'd feel that we're learning how to fight against that monster!" exclaimed Alice encouragingly.

"Wait—so let me get this straight, Lily—you want to start a dueling club…for just Gryffindors? For all the houses? From age what to what?" Emmeline's control-freak attitude clicked on at the word club.

"Well…,"mumbled Lily, blushing a little, "I was thinking the whole school from fifth year and on."

"What teacher would sponsor it?" demanded Emmeline, writing in the air as if she were mentally writing up lists and checking them off one by one.

"The Defense teacher of course, Emmeline!" said Alice, shaking her head at Emmeline's organizational skills. "Maybe you should do more than just be organized, Em!"

Lily, seeing where Alice was going with this, agreed with, "Like being logical for example."

Emmeline stuck her tongue out and continued with, "And just, logically speaking, whose going to be teaching us all those fun hexes and curses?"

This was the part Lily hadn't really wanted to talk about. Indeed, she had greatly pondered this herself.

"Um, well, I thought we perhaps could. We're all very good at Defense, and I thought if we introduced a new anti-dark hex or curse or defense mechanism each meeting, we'd be fine on our own. And of course, we could insource (A/N: the U.S. outsources to other countries—see the connection?) to other talented people too."

"Yeah—like Sirius!" cried out Emmeline.

"You're starting to turn to the Marauders' side, Emmeline," scolded Lily, her mouth twitching a bit at Emmeline's new-found affection for the silliest of the Marauders.

"Oh horror!" laughed Alice. "But on a more _serious_ note—no pun intended (the girls laughed), the so-called Marauders minus Peter are very good at Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Potter gets a lot of practice hexing other students each day," commented Lily disgustedly.

"Especially hexing Snape," added Alice.

"Speaking of Snape, what's up with you and Snape, Lily?" inquired Emmeline curiously, and with a bit of anxiety in her voice. "I saw you two talking at Honeydukes."

"Oh, well, we both share a mutual loathing for Potter—that's all," Lily replied lightly.

"Potter seemed to think it was more than that," Emmeline declared, turning to face Lily.

"What happened?" asked Alice. "I didn't see."

After Emmeline explained from her point of view to Alice what had taken place, Lily finally told her friends how odd Snape had acted. "It was eerie: it was like he was flirting with me in a sort of sneaky—"

"Slytherin way," finished a voice from behind them. They turned around to see James and Sirius standing behind them, stuffing a shimmery bundle into his cloak.

"Why didn't we notice you there before?" demanded Lily in cold fury.

"I'm a master of disguise, didn't you know?" retorted James, smirking at Lily's pink cheeks. He could tell she was embarrassed that he had heard her and her friends' conversation.

"I think you should master something called consideration and humility first," responded Lily icily, as Emmeline also sent him and Sirius a withering look. Sirius tried to look sorry as he went over to Emmeline attempting a hug. However, Emmeline merely pushed him away, as she and Alice moved closer to Lily who had stepped towards James.

James, realizing how close they were, wasn't sure whether to be worried or to take advantage of the situation. "I think you like me already, Evans. You just don't want to admit it. Otherwise, why would you have gotten so close? You just can't resist me."

"Potter, once you realize that your immature and inconsiderate attitude is as unattractive as an acromantula, maybe I'll actually have positive reasons for getting close to you. Until then, it's only to do _this_." The three girls left, going into Hogwarts' castle.

James rubbed the stinging, red spot on his face, a strange smile flickering on his thin, bespectacled face. "What does an acromatula look like again, Padfoot?" But for some reason, Sirius didn't answer. "Padfoot?" James didn't see Sirius anywhere. Sighing, he looked down at the ground, only to see Sirius lying there spellbound, literally. James chuckled. "Emmeline obviously didn't want you to follow her anymore, huh, Padfoot? Finite Incantem."

Sirius hopped up and said, "Boy—Emmeline can sure do a good full-body bind. What was that question again, Prongs?"

"What does an acromantula look like?"

"Your face when Evans is finished slapping it."

Hehehe REVIEW my lovely reviewers! Or I shall set my acromantulas on you! Muahahahahaha! PhoenixPlume


	12. Exams and Education of a Different Kind

Well…(tear) this is the second to the last chapter to their fifth year. I had to merge my writing w/ J.K.'s for this one. It's exam time…and other things as well. I promise that some more original and exciting action will be happening soon after this chapter. But an important event marking Lily's and James' relationship occurs in this chapter; so I had to include it. Don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer**: Yes, yes, I know. J.K. and I are different people, and 3 Days Grace and I don't know each other either (the title of this chapter is the title of one of their songs.) Therefore, I don't own anything…really…my parents own _me _until I'm 18, darn it!

* * *

**Exams and Education of a Different Kind**

"Ugh," groaned Lily, turning over in her four-poster bed, as light streamed through the window of the tower. Unfortunately for Lily, who had just clenched her eyes shut in protest to the sun's message, a wily Alice had just crept out of her bed and was now saying, "WAKE UP, LILY DAHLINK!" (A/N: darling w/ Hungarian accent)

"Nooooo," whined Lily, covering her tangled red head with a comforter in an attempt to block the noise.

"Yes!" exclaimed Alice, who was then joined by Emmeline. Between the two of them, Lily was exposed and promptly pulled out of bed.

"Oh no!" Lily let out. "We have the written Defense OWL today!"

"And why are _you_ worried, Lils?" asked Emmeline who was already dressed and reviewing notes for the exam. "You're one of the best in our year!"

"And you aren't, Em?" returned Alice, with a spunky smirk. "Really, it's a good thing one of us isn't stressed out today. I guess I'm the only one who's _really_ prepared." The round-faced blonde was soon bombarded on two sides with pillows, and then the girls continued getting ready.

* * *

The time for the exam came more quickly than anyone would have liked, even bright students like Alice, Lily, and Emmeline, or the Marauders (not including Peter).

The fifth year students nervously made their way to seats in the Great Hall, but the four house tables were gone. Instead, there were more than a hundred smaller tables, all facing the same way. Lily turned to her right, three seats away, and smiled at Emmeline, who gave her the thumbs up, and at Alice, right behind her, who winked at her for luck. Having that tingly feeling one gets when someone is staring at you from a different direction, Lily looked up to see Potter staring at her, a wistful expression on his face. Noticing that she had noticed him, James regained his self-assured grin and blew a kiss at her. Instead of responding, Lily looked down at the anti-cheating quill, the scroll of parchment full of questions the student could keep, and the blank parchment on which one answered the questions.

After the proctor, Professor Flitwick, had announced how much time the students had to complete the exam, the students, with one accord, bent down and began reading the questions. The only sound was the scratching of quills and the occasional rustle as somebody adjusted their parchment. Time flew quickly for the stressed students, some who were biting their quills in frustration, some looking for inspiration from the crystal blue sky high above them.

"Five more minutes!" called out Professor Flitwick, just as he was walking past James. Exceptional at Defense Against the Dark Arts, James had just dotted his last "i," and was now putting down his quill, pulling his roll of parchment towards him so as to reread what he had written. However, James had never really liked proof-reading, believing it to be tiresome and unnecessary when his work was usually already good enough. He yawned hugely and rumpled up his hair, making it even messier than it had been. Then, with a glance towards Professor Flitwick, he turned in his seat and grinned at Sirius, sitting four seats behind him.

Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs; he also had finished the exam early. Instead of noticing a Hufflepuff girl behind him making eyes at him hopelessly, Sirius turned to look at Emmeline. He sighed. They had broken up because Emmeline had been so mad at him for spying on her and her friends. He supposed he couldn't blame her. But that didn't change the fact that she was looking awfully pretty today as she stared at the azure sky with equally brilliant blue eyes. Tearing his eyes away from Emmeline, Sirius wrinkled his aristocratic nose at Snivellus, whose greasy nose was a centimeter away from his over-full parchment. Looking away from this offensive sight, Sirius looked forward at James, whom Sirius noticed with a smirk, was drawing again. Sirius had once caught a glimpse of what James liked to sketch and thought it rather amusing. Wonderful blackmailing material…

James doodled idly on a bit of scrap parchment. He had drawn a Snitch and was now tracing the letters "L.E." His artwork was interrupted, however, when Professor Flitwick squeaked, "Quills down please. That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment. _Accio!"_

Over a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backwards off his feet. Several people laughed. A couple of students at the front desks got up, took hold of Professor Flitwick beneath the elbows and lifted him back onto his feet.

"Thank you… thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"

James hastily crossed out the 'L.E.' he had been embellishing, jumped to his feet, stuffed his quill and the exam questionnaire into his bag, which he slung over his back, and stood waiting for Sirius, Remus, and Peter to join him. When they had, the four boys headed towards the Entrance Hall.

"Did you like question ten, Moony?" asked Sirius, as they emerged into the Entrance Hall.

"Loved it," said Remus briskly. "_Give five signs that identify the werewolf_.' Excellent question."

"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" said James in tones of mock concern.

"Think I did," said Remus seriously, as they joined the crowd thronging around the front doors eager to get out into the sunlit grounds. "One: he's sitting on my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin."

Peter was the only one who didn't laugh.

"I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes and the tufted tail,' he said anxiously, 'but I couldn't think what else –"

"How thick are you, Wormtail?" said James impatiently. "You run around with a werewolf once a month –"

"Keep your voice down," implored Remus, as the four boys glanced behind them to see Lily, Emmeline, and Alice following behind them, several meters away. Farther behind, Snape followed at a slower rate, still poring over the exam paper and apparently with no fixed idea of where he was going.

"So, how do you think you did?" asked Remus, in an attempt to continue the conversation, but on a less dangerous strain.

"Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake,' Sirius said. "I'll be surprised if I don't get 'Outstanding' on it at least."

"Me too," said James. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a struggling Golden Snitch.

"Where'd you get that?" asked Sirius.

"Nicked it," James said casually. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a meter away before seizing it again; his reflexes were excellent. Peter watched him in awe. The Marauders stopped in the shade of a beech tree on the edge of the lake, and threw themselves down on the grass, near Lily, Emmeline, and Alice who had taken their socks and shoes off, and were cooling their feet in the shallows of the lake.

Remus pulled out a book and read while Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored. James was still playing with the Snitch, letting it zoom farther and farther away, almost escaping, but always grabbing it at the last second. Peter watched James with his mouth open; every time James made a particularly difficult catch, Peter gasped and applauded. James, instead, would always look over at Lily, who refused to look at him, thinking his arrogant display quite disgusting.

"Put that away, will you," said Sirius finally, as James made a fine catch and Wormtail let out a cheer, "before Wormtail wets himself with excitement."

Peter turned slightly pink, but James grinned.

"If it bothers you," James said, stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket.

"I'm bored," said Sirius. "Wish it was full moon."

"You might," said Remus darkly from behind his book. "We've still got Transfiguration; if you're bored you could test me. Here…" and he held out his book.

But Sirius snorted. "I don't need to look at that rubbish. I know it all."

"This'll liven you up, Padfoot," said James quietly. "Look who it is…"

Sirius's head turned. He became very still, like a dog that has scented a rabbit.

"Excellent," he said softly. "_Snivellus_."

Behind some rather large bushes, away from prying eyes, Snape had been as deeply immersed in the OWL paper as ever. But now, he was on his feet again, and was stowing the OWL paper in his bag. As he left the shadows of the bushes, Remus and Peter remained sitting: Remus was still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows. Peter, however, was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with a look of avid anticipation on his face.

"All right, Snivellus?" said James loudly. Ever since the incident at Honeydukes, James and Snape had been at each others' throats even more than before. Because of this, Snape reacted as though expecting an attack: dropping his bag, he plunged his hand inside his robes and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, "_Expelliarmus!_"

Snape's wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"_Impedimenta!_" he said, pointing his wand at Snape, who was knocked off his feet halfway through a dive towards his own fallen wand.

Students all around had turned to watch. Some of them had got to their feet and were edging nearer. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained.

Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, wands raised, James glancing over his shoulder at the girls at the water's edge as he went. Peter stood up, hungrily watching the scene unfold and shuffling around Remus to get a clearer view.

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" said James maliciously.

"I was watching him; his nose was touching the parchment," said Sirius viciously. "There'll be great grease marks all over it; they won't be able to read a word."

Several people watching laughed; Snape was clearly unpopular while James was the reigning King of Popularity.

Wormtail sniggered nasally. Snape was trying to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him; he struggled, as though bound by invisible ropes.

"You—wait," he panted, staring up at James with an expression of purest loathing, "You—wait!"

"Wait for what?" asked Sirius coolly. "What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?"

Snape let out a scream of mixed swear words and hexes, but with his wand ten feet away nothing happened.

"Wash out your mouth," said James coldly. "_Scourgify!_"

Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him -

Lily, hearing all the commotion, vacated her comfortable spot on the bank and found James' back to her as he hexed Snape to an inch of his life. "Leave him ALONE!" she cried out, angry tears trembling threateningly in the tear ducts of her green, almond-shaped eyes.

James and Sirius turned around. James's free hand immediately jumped to his hair.

"All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature. Surely she would see how far superior he was to Snivellus _now_.

"Leave him alone," Lily repeated adamantly, her vibrant, verdant eyes focused on James with intense hatred. "What's he done to _you_?"

"Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "It's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…" To himself, James thought, 'And the fact that he wants you.'

Many of the surrounding students laughed, Sirius and Peter included, but Lupin, still apparently intent on his book, if only in appearance, didn't laugh, and neither did Lily.

"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toe-rag, Potter. Leave him _alone_."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "Go on… go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Behind him, the Impediment Jinx was wearing off. Snape was beginning to inch towards his fallen wand, spitting out soapsuds as he crawled.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," said Lily.

"Bad luck, Prongs," said Sirius briskly, and turned back to Snape. "OI!"

But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face, spattering his robes with blood. James whirled about: a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside-down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of greying underpants.

Many people in the small crowd cheered; Sirius, James, and Wormtail roared with laughter.

Lily, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as though she were going to smile, said, "Let him down!"

"Certainly," said James smoothly as he jerked his wand upwards; Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes, he got quickly to his feet, wand up— "_Petrificus Totalus!"_ Sirius voiced before Snape could say anything. Snape kneeled over again, rigid as a board.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily.

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James earnestly, trying not to look too scared as her vivid eyes bore into his hazel ones.

"Take the curse off him, then!'"

James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the counter-curse.

"There you go," he said, as Snape struggled to his feet. "You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus –"

In defiance to this obvious statement, Snape spat, "I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

Lily blinked. "Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus_."

"Apologise to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him.

"I don't want _you_ to make him apologise," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is."

"What?" yelped James. "I'd NEVER call you a—you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just gotten off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can-- I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."

She turned on her heel and hurried away with Emmeline and Alice.

"Evans!" James shouted after her. "Hey, EVANS!"

But she didn't look back.

"What is it with her?" said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him.

"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius.

"Right," said James, who looked furious now, "right –"

There was another flash of light, and Snape was once again hanging upside-down in the air.

"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?" demanded James, trying to regain his usual air of confidence after his scene with Evans.

Suddenly, a powerful voice ended the confict with, "Stop this at once!" What his four words and presence did was astounding. Immediately, all eyes fell upon a tall wizard with a broken nose and a long, silver beard, eyeing the mob behind crescent moon-shaped frames; a disappointed and pitying look was imprinted on his wise, old face. All eyes were watching him, but Snape's, that is. Snape had collapsed pathetically, managing to crack his skull in the process. He was now lying on the ground, an unconscious heap.

Albus Dumbledore was not a wizard to be trifled with. Despite his deceptively child-like, blue eyes, he was powerful in many different ways. He conjured up a stretcher for the unconscious Snape, and in a quietly potent voice, said, "Would you care to follow me, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Pettigrew? Miss McKinnon, would you please find Miss Evans and tell her to report to my office as well? Thank you." As Marlene departed to find Lily, Dumbledore parted the crowd, followed nervously by James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

* * *

After depositing Snape in the infirmary and leaving him there under Madame Pomfrey's care, Dumbledore led the students to his office. Once on the office's threshold, Dumbledore said, "Would you, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Pettigrew wait outside my office? Miss Evans should be along shortly also."

James entered the office tentatively, sitting down after Dumbledore had motioned for James to do so.

"Is there anything you would like to say for yourself, James?" inquired Dumbledore, sadness in his blue eyes. Funny, they reminded James of the color of the sky that day…

James wondered if the Dumbledore's eyes had more to them than people thought, kind of like Evans' seemed to. "No, sir," replied James.

Dumbledore sighed and began, "Sometimes, James, we do things without thinking. I know this isn't the first time you have done something without thinking. Have you ever heard the saying, "Pride goes before a fall, James?"

"Yes—my grandmother used to tell me that quite often before she died."

"You have the potential to be a powerful wizard, James—and you know it. Sometimes, our power is our downfall. Voldemort's power was his downfall. Before he was Voldemort, he was Tom Riddle. Tom was one of the most brilliant students Hogwarts ever taught, perhaps the most brilliant. Therefore, he was particularly susceptible to falling."

Dumbledore continued seriously, " James, humility is one of the hardest things in life to learn. When we finally learn it, we have often hurt others in the process. Today, you hurt several people. You will continue hurting others until you learn that hard lesson, James."

James groaned inwardly. He had sunk to the level of a nasty Slytherin. The Sorting Hat had told him that he could do well in Slytherin because of his resourcefulness and ambition. "I preyed on someone weaker, didn't I?" asked James.

"I'm afraid so, James. But with understanding, you can overcome your arrogance, and use your power for a better cause. I'm sure of it, and Lily Evans is sure of it." James started in surprise.

"What do you mean Lily Evans is sure of it?"

"Can't you see, James? Miss Evans knows you're brilliant, you're the only one who continues to keep up with her in school. She hates to admit it, but she respects that about you, and hates to see that you are using that talent for belittling others who are obviously not so popular or talented as you are—like Severus Snape."

"Oh…" James said.

"Now," said Dumbledore briskly, "As for your punishment, you must apologize to Snape, help Mr. Filch clean every Thursday night the remaining days of this year, and tutor one student all of next year. Hurting another student, especially for no reason, is a very serious offense. If you had been defending yourself, things would be different. I hope that in the future, James, you will think before you do something you could regret later, and you will learn the lesson of humility. Invite Mr. Black in, please, as you leave."

James got up, nodding at Dumbledore's last statement, and heading out the door. As he reached for the door knob, he turned around and asked, "Professor Dumbledore, sir, even if I do become less, ah, conceited—is it alright that you hate someone, because I can't help it."

Dumbledore sighed. "It's not alright, but it can't be helped. Our emotions have a mind of their own sometimes. Do what you can to control them if they are negative, James. Hate often does more harm to the one who lets it reside in his heart than the one who is hated. If I am right by saying it is Severus Snape whom you hate, it might curb your hatred some if you knew more about him and what his life is like when he is not at Hogwarts. But that is all I will tell you, James. It is not for me to reveal what he hasn't revealed to you."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," responded James as he exited the office. He signaled to Sirius to go in. As the door closed behind Sirius, James noticed Remus, Peter, and Evans all seated on the ground. He nodded at Remus and Peter, but avoided Lily's accusing eyes. James had a lot to mull over and rethink.

'It may have felt good, but it hadn't been right,' he now realized, shivering at what people must see him as. It was an odd feeling, embarrassment and regret. Usually, James did things without considering what others' might feel. Now, all he knew was he had to change.

This is so dramatic! Even though this chapter wasn't funny, I think it was very expressive, and you should have really gotten to know James better. I hope I did a good job at Dumbledore. I have a feeling, from what I've gathered from the books, that Dumbledore wrestled with arrogance b/c of his power. I just get this feeling, considering how he keeps things from people to "protect" them. He thinks he must carry burdens alone. Anyways, PLEASE tell me what you think! I worked hard at revising J.K.'s writing to mesh with mine since she had Harry in there (b/c he was seeing Snape's memory). I will be continuing this story instead of writing two sequels of James and Lily's sixth and seventh year. REVIEW, my wonderful readers, and together we can make this story a better story! Love, PhoenixPlume


	13. The Boyfriend She Never Knew About

Hey! I worked hard to write another chapter for y'all one week before exams (don't I have my priorities straight!). So read and enjoy! It's only 30 seconds of your time to review…so please,do. And feel free to ask me questions as well (just be sure you're signed in or you include your e-mail). This is the last chapter of fifth year…but I'm doing sixth and seventh, so not to worry. Thanks!

**Ch. 12 The Boyfriend She Never Knew About**

Fireworks blossomed in the dark sky, as the Hogwarts' students, or rather the Marauders, ended the year with a big bang.

"And now lastly, my favorite," shouted James, smiling at one particular person in the sea of students surrounding him, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. A dazzling white lily burst into the sky, showering golden rain.

The real Lily blushed with embarrassment. Yes, she knew most girls would be flattered, but why was it _always_ Potter? Many had whispered that he wasn't as cocky as he used to be, but he was still cockier than most. Yes, it was sweet to do that, she decided, but she wasn't going to fall at his feet merely because he bought some cheap firework featuring her namesake. She felt a hand touching her shoulder.

"Like it, Evans, or should I say, _Lily_?" whispered a voice close to Lily's ear.

"Very nice, _Potter_. It would turn any girl's head, but mine."

"One of these days, I'm going to make you fall in love with me."

Why did he have to go back to his conceited routine? "Potter, you can't make someone fall in love with you. That you think you can shows that you haven't changed enough." Lily searched for Alice and Emmeline, from whom she had become separated in the dense crowd of students, leaving James frustrated and confused.

"Lucky in love, Prongs?" inquired Sirius, lightly punching James in the shoulder.

"More like rejected, Padfoot," replied James.

"Well, she must have been flattered at least," commented Remus, as the four boys strode back towards the castle.

"She was. She even mentioned that she had noticed some change for the better," stated James, smiling a bit at her slightly-improved behavior, "Plus, she didn't yell at me, slap me, or threaten to hex me this time."

* * *

The next day, the students packed for the train ride home. A tousled Lily made her way towards the common room, falling down the stairs unceremoniously. 

"What are you doing, Lily?" called out early-bird Alice.

"Mmmmmrrrmemmlemmle," murmured Lily incoherently.

"You do realize that you look utterly ridiculous, Evans," rang out James' voice amusedly from the common room, where he and Remus were looking in nooks and crannies for lost "valuables."

"It's a free country!" defended Lily, picking herself up at the sound of Potter's voice. "And I don't see you trying to help me up, Potter."

"I don't want my head bitten off! Although—"

"Stop while you're ahead, Potter," laughed Emmeline, who had just gotten out of the shower. She peeked around the door of the girls' dorm. "She's dangerous this early in the morning."

Lily didn't respond; she just headed up the stairs to get ready to go. After all, even though Alice and Emmeline might have been fully awake and walking at that time in the morning, Lily was sleep-walking-- like any normal person.

* * *

ON THE TRAIN: 

Lily crept through the sliding door, trying to surprise her friends.

"He's changing; I really think he is, Emmeline. Frank told me he's been less full-of-himself ever since that incident with Snape," said Alice earnestly to Emmeline.

"Yeah, according to Lily, he was pretty quiet after his talk with Dumbledore."

"Still hasn't stopped those two from having their usual love/hate relationship, though, has it?" laughed Alice, lightening the conversation topic.

"Talking about me behind my back, girls?" teased Lily as she made her presence known by completely pushing the door aside as she stepped into the compartment.

"Spying on us?" inquired Emmeline. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough," responded Lily airily. "Good news—I won't have to patrol this time 'round. Remus is going to later."

"Great!" Alice exclaimed, reaching for something in her bag. She pulled out a hot pink and green _BeWitched_ magazine. "That means we can finally have some girl talk time!"

"Provided we're not interrupted," added Emmeline, smiling at Alice's enthusiasm.

"Ooh! Lemme see!" Lily said. Although she didn't consider herself shallow, she had fun reading the kinds of magazine with advice, and BeWitched was full of it.

"Sure thing," replied Alice, handing the desired magazine over as Lily immediately flipped through.

"Anything good?" asked Emmeline curiously.

"Haha," chortled Lily. "Look," she pointed at a particularly flashy article. "What he tells you with his body language. Does your crush raise his eyebrows when he lays eyes on you? Does he stare at you? When he first sees you, does his mouth open a little? Does he mess with his hair? Does he straighten his collar? Does he try to get your attention? It could be that he's telling you something.'"

"How appropriate after our discussion about Potter," remarked Emmeline. Lily pretended to be innocent and unknowing. "Oh, give me a break, Lils. I know you heard Alice's and my discussion. Anyways, according to that article and the show he put on last night, Potter definitely likes you, Lily."

"Oh, Em! Tell her something she doesn't already know," suggested Alice teasingly. "Oy! Evans! Go out with me?" Alice imitated James in a very exaggerated way as she got on her knees and started playing with her wispy blonde hair, rakishly raising her eyebrows.

Instead of answering this _important_ question, Lily started giggling and replied, "Alice! Why didn't you tell me before? Whatever shall we tell Frank, Emmeline?"

Emmeline rubbed her temples thoughtfully. "It may require medical attention. The boy might have a serious reaction to this kind of disturbing news."

"Oh, be quiet!" commanded Alice. "Speaking of Frank, I'm going to go see him. I told him I'd go talk to him for half an hour or so."

"Noooo!" moaned Lily dramatically, clutching her heart in pain. "You can't leave me now! I shall languish for thee!"

"Languish away," replied Alice scathingly, but with a grin on her round face.

"See ya!" called out Lily and Emmeline. Just as Alice was leaving, the usual lady with sweets entered.

"Like anything, dears?" the lady asked, smiling pleasantly.

"Ah, yes!" responded Lily. "Could I have some lime Fizzing Whizbees…and some chocolate frogs?"

"How many of each?"

"Oh…I don't know…how about six sickles' worth?" The lady began to reach for the candy.

"That's a lot!" exclaimed Emmeline. "But then again, we both like them and if Alice comes back…alright! I'll pay three sickles and you pay three." The girls handed the lady the money, and the woman and her cart exited the compartment, bumping into the door and something on the ground, leaving the girls with plenty of sweets. She muttered something under her breath about draughts.

"Mmm," Lily smiled happily. "I love Fizzing Whizbees." She floated slightly above her chair, then settled back her chair.

"I know," laughed Emmeline at the sight of Lily being levitated in the air by the Fizzing Whizbee. As she reached for a chocolate frog, her brows became furrowed with confusion. "Lils?"

"Mmm?"

"Didn't we have twenty chocolate frogs?"

"Yeah, why?"

"We only have fourteen now."

"That's unusual…wait! Wait—did you just say that six chocolate frogs disappeared?"

"Yep."

"Into thin air?"

"It appears to be the case."

"Guard the door, Emmeline. There's someone here besides us. Someone invisible has stolen my candy before, and this time, I'm catching the culprit." Emmeline stood up in front of the door, knowing she had to protect her candy.

"Alright. I know that someone's in here besides me and Emmeline," Lily said, walking around the room, her hands outstretched like a zombie. The two girls could hear some mutters coming from one corner of the compartment. Lily grinned evilly. "You are so letting me borrow that invisibility cloak, whoever you are."

A voice out of no-where replied, "I'll let you borrow it, if you'll go out with me, Evans."

"Nice try, Potter," replied Lily, a smile flickering on her face in spite of herself. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter materialized out of nowhere. James strode over towards Lily.

"Well, it was worth a try," he said cheekily, folding the cloak and stuffing it into his regular cloak.

"Hand over the chocolate, and nobody gets hurt," Lily said deviously. "I'm warning you: I can use that cloak against you. Filch would have a _field_ day."

"Whatever are you talking about, Evans?" asked James, grinning mischievously. Lily gave him a look that would kill. "Oh…THOSE chocolates! Yes, well, Padfoot ate them."

"Can I pleeeeease have some?" begged Sirius. "I promise I'll be good the rest of…(he thought hard about this) the train ride!"

"I highly doubt that," stated Emmeline, folding her arms. "And didn't you already have some chocolate?"

"No," Sirius said, not blinking.

"Liar," Emmeline said back.

"Padfoot! You took them all!" accused James.

"I'm sure you were blameless, Potter. And when did you enter our compartment, anyways?" demanded Lily, hands on her hips.

"We snuck by the lady with the cart—tried to snitch a few sweets but she keeps them under a blasted lid!" responded Sirius before James could open his mouth. Sirius eyed the candy dangerously. "Chocolate please?" Sirius aimed his puppy dog eyes at both girls pathetically. Put that boy near sugar and he went haywire.

Remus pleaded, "PLEASE don't give him more—Sirius has already had six chocolate frogs! He's unsafe when he's had too much sugar."

"Fits and things like that," added James, for good measure. "But you can give _me_ some." The girls rolled their eyes.

"And me," agreed Peter, reaching for a chocolate frog. Remus grabbed his hand away from the sweets.

"Sorry, Lily, Emmeline, I tried to teach them manners but they failed miserably," apologized Remus, with a smile. However, he took a Fizzing Whizbee, and paused thoughtfully before he popped it into his mouth. "I think they have rubbed off on me." He levitated slightly.

Lily laughed and gave in, saying, "You all can have some—just don't take it all because Emmeline and I are trying to save some for Alice."

"Ah, yes, we just saw Alice enter _Frank's_ compartment," declared Sirius, before attacking the chocolate frogs in what he thought was a sneaky way.

"Lord, protect us, Sirius, from your sneaky ways," commented Emmeline dryly.

"I have a Sneakoscope," remarked Peter, thinking that he was adding to the conversation.

"Speaking of protection," began James, "Weren't you thinking of having some sort of club for next year, Evans? You know, one we can learn dueling in and stuff?"

"Yes," Lily murmured as she remembered why Potter would know about her idea. After all, he had been sneaking with Sirius in the invisibility cloak when he heard it. She had noticed something shiny disappear under Potter's cloak…now she knew what it was. "Yes, that cloak will be very useful."

"Had no idea she was such a plotter," commented Sirius on how Lily was boring her green eyes into the invisibility cloak. "Guess you never can tell with Evans."

Lily stared him down menacingly but continued, "I think it'll just be for the sixth year Gryffindors."

"What about fifth and seventh?" inquired Remus.

"Well, we figured that fifth and seventh years are preparing for OWLs and NEWTs so they'll be too busy to really have time for a defense club," replied Emmeline. She, Lily, and Alice had already discussed the topic thoroughly.

"Good point," James said, and then he turned to Lily with a mischievous smile. "But you're going to be busy next year when you're Seeker, aren't you now?"

"Potter…" Lily warned.

"Did you hear? Kingsley Shacklebolt's resigning from the team next year, and I'm replacing him as captain."

"Are you serious?" demanded Lily as if her life were over.

"No, I am!" Sirius joked, but went back to eating chocolate when the others glared at him.

"Why's Shack resigning?" asked Emmeline curiously.

"NEWTs," James answered. They all groaned.

"We have so much to look forward to our seventh year," Remus said in a fakely bright voice.

"With me there, of course you do!" Sirius beamed, reaching for another chocolate. The chocolate frogs had gone from an army to just a few refugees.

"Never a dull moment, that's for sure," agreed Emmeline.

"If you hadn't broken up with me, Emmeline, you could have more of those special moments with me," commented Sirius with a smirk.

"If you hadn't spied on me, Sirius, I wouldn't have broken up with you," retorted Emmeline.

"Uh oh," James said, turning to Lily, Remus, and Peter, "Let's leave before they really get started."

"Good idea," agreed Remus, turning to Peter. "Wormtail and I are going to go patrol."

"But I'm not a prefect!" protested Peter.

"I am, and I already told Lily she didn't have to patrol."

"Okay, fine." The two boys made their way through the door and down the hallway.

"Are you two leaving also?" asked Sirius, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah," responded James, pulling Lily along. "My Seeker and I have things to discuss. Privately."

"What," Lily said, as they exited, "was that about?"

"Hey!" James exclaimed defensively. "At least I got us out of there! Have you seen how they get when they fight?"

"No."

"You don't want to."

"So you're going to be captain next year."

"Going to suck up to me, Evans?"

"Shut up, Potter. I was merely assessing the situation."

"As am I."

"How can I try out if there's a Seeker on the team right now?"

"Key words are 'right now.' It just so happens that our Seeker graduated this year. Don't you keep up with your house, Evans?"

"I prefer to live my own life, not study others'."

"Really? And I thought you liked to study."

"Why does everyone think all I do is read and study? I can do other things too," Lily declared rebelliously, tossing her head as she glared at some astonished students passing by.

"Yeah, like scare younger students," responded James, laughing.

"You and Sirius scare the entire school, so there."

"Yes, but everyone knows that not only are we talented Quidditch players, pranksters, and students, we attract nearly all of Hogwarts' female population."

"The key word is 'nearly.'"

"Well…McGonagall and Sprout haven't fallen yet, but then again, some question whether they have hormones."

"Well, _I'm_ not attracted to you."

"The key word is 'yet,' Evans," smirked James, enjoying Lily's spitfire reaction.

"You make me sick, Potter!"

"Yes, well, that is one of infatuation's side-effects. Poets call it love-sick."

"Is slapping you a side-effect, Potter?" asked Lily tartly.

"Let's talk about Quidditch, Evans!" James said suddenly, realizing a subject change was in order if he wanted to retain those looks that most of the female population at Hogwarts admired.

* * *

The rest of the train-ride passed without any mishap, other than Lily's and James', as well as Sirius' and Emmeline's bickering. The only one of the girls' trio who had a pleasant time the entire ride was Alice, who sat mostly with Frank. 

Lily, Alice, and Emmeline descended from the train together, and each searched for her family. In Alice's case, a short blonde witch and tall, balding wizard greeted her along with her brother, Ben, who had graduated from Hogwarts before Alice had ever started Hogwarts.

"Hey, Mum and Dad—Ben!" cried out Alice happily. She hugged her parents, then immediately straightened Ben's collar. "Really, Ben, at twenty-three you should be able to keep your collar straight by now." Lily and Emmeline giggled at the comical scene as Ben pleaded his innocence. Alice mothered everyone, even her big brother.

Regaining her composure first, Lily asked, "How are you, Mrs. Pritchett?" as the Pritchett family and Alice's two friends neared the barrier.

After they passed through the barrier, Mrs. Pritchett replied, "I'm very well, thank you. How are you two?"

"We're wonderful," replied Emmeline quickly, as she thought she had seen her parents. "Lily, I think I see my parents. Oh—look! Yours are over there!"

"Oh, thanks!" Lily turned to Alice and gave her a hug, and Emmeline hugged them both.

"Group hug," said Emmeline, a smile in her voice.

"You two are coming this summer, last week, 'kay?" commanded Alice, already missing her two best friends.

"I'll be there. It will be lovely getting away from Petunia."

"I'm sure my parents won't mind," added Emmeline.

"Owl me!" shouted Alice as Lily and Emmeline departed to meet their families.

Lily turned her head and called back, "I will!" and nearly collided into someone who seemed to have very knobbly knees. "Aaargh!"

"Have you ever had dejà-vous?" asked an all-too-familiar voice. She groaned.

"Not you! However did you manage to knock yourself into me again, Potter?"

"I'm magic," he smirked, picking up her trunk. He had apparently already dropped his off by his parents.

"Haha, very funny." Lily sighed and decided that she might as well make the most of it. Her trunk was rather heavy, after all. She strode toward her parents, smiling rather fixedly, as James followed her in her wake.

"Lily!" exclaimed Mrs. Evans, giving her daughter a hug. Lily was happy to be with her family when she heard her father asking James, "Are you Lily's, you-know, ah…?"

James all-too-joyfully responded, "Boyfriend? Yes, sir, I am. I cannot tell you how great an honor it has been dating your daughter."

"WHAT?" demanded Lily, pulling away from her mother abruptly. She swiveled around to her father, "He most certainly is not—"

"Sh, it's alright," Mr. Evans smiled leniently. "I'm not mad at you for not telling me about it. After all, I was young once."

"No, Dad, really, it's not what you—"

James interrupted her, as he wrapped his arm around her. "What _Lily's _trying to say is, we wanted to surprise you."

"We most certainly did noh—"

"Remember, Harry, when we met in high school? We hated each other!" laughed Mrs. Evans. "But eventually, we went out in college. But it took about six years."

"Yes!" exclaimed James, his hazel eyes dancing with laughter, as he looked at Lily. "That's exactly how it was at first! Lily and I just couldn't stand each other until this year!"

Lily just mumbled swear words under her breath; she had given up. Her parents were just going to have to think she had a boyfriend.

"I think she fell for my red hair," chuckled Mr. Evans. "Like red-heads, James?" (A/N: James had introduced himself while Lily was hugging/greeting her mother).

"Love 'em," replied James.

"Well, **_James_**," Lily said through gritted teeth, and emphasizing his name, "I guess we'll see you later. I'm sure your parents are sick with worry at your lack of appearance."

"Oh yes, dear—your parents are probably wondering where you are!" Mrs. Evans said anxiously.

"Nah—they're used to it," James assured her, turning to Lily. "I'll go now, though. Love you, my _Lily_-Pad." He bent down, and kissed her on the cheek chastely, and as he turned to leave, Mr. Evans laughed at what he muttered was "young love," and said, "You must come for dinner sometime this summer, James. I'm sure Lily would love to see you."

"Thanks, Mr. Evans. I think I will. So long, Lily-Pad!" The messy-haired boy who existed to torture Lily walked away.

"What a lovely boy!" Mrs. Evans said approvingly.

That was when Lily Evans knew it was going to be a long summer.

**F**L**A**S**H**I**N**G** L**I**G**H**T**S

See that button down there that says "REVIEW" on it? Click it and tell me what you think of my story. Feel free to ask questions also! Hope you liked the chapter! Love, PhoenixPlume


	14. From Behind the Bush

I know, I know—it's been 3 months and you want to kill me! If it makes you feel any better, I've been volunteering and I got my wisdom teeth taken out. WHICH HURTS LIKE H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS, for your information.

Also, in a few days, you're going to get a lot of Author or Story Alerts b/c I'm editing two chapters because HBP has changed the fact that Lily has Slughorn for a teacher and that she is good at potions. So, you can read those again, there will be a few changes there (when you get the alerts, not now). Also, in my 8th update, _Magic Carpet Ride_ is by Steppenwolf, **not** the Who. (let's pretend that Lily made the mistake, not I!) Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! -PhoenixPlume

* * *

_A refresher: Lily has just returned from Hogwarts after a harrowing experience, namely, James Potter telling her parents that they are "together."_

Ch. 13 From Behind the Bushes

The moment Lily and her parents arrived at their home, a tall, skinny blonde girl minced towards her haughtily and said in a falsely friendly tone, "Welcome home, Lily, dear! We simply must talk—in my room."

Lily wrinkled her brows in confusion as Petunia ushered her rather forcefully up the stairs to her bedroom, a room that matched Petunia's personality: clean, boring, but…well…that really was all there was to say. It was white, with white furniture, and Petunia's bed had a white bedspread. The only thing odd about the room was a feather duster sitting quietly on Petunia's white desk. Lily raised her eyebrows in surprise. Of course. Petunia would have cleaned her room in order to intimidate Lily. Lily smiled. Neatness didn't scare her in the least. What scared her was the sour expression on Petunia's face that greeted Lily when she turned away from the feather duster. Lily flicked a speck of dust away from Petunia's white, button-down blouse.

"There. Now_ everything_ is clean," Lily said, smirking in delight at Petunia's pursed lips. It felt so good to take her frustration out on someone after what James had done only an hour ago.

"Frr—I mean, Lily," said Petunia, readjusting her horse-like features into something a teacher might be fooled into thinking was a salary raise, "I have a proposition for you."

"You'll clean my room _too_ for free?" suggested Lily, hopefully. Lily wasn't a neat freak.

Petunia wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Of course not, Freak! I mean, Lily."

"Get to your point, Petunia," Lily said, sighing, as she shifted her feet. She really wanted to go for a nice run. It was such a temperate day. And although Lily wasn't in excellent shape, she really enjoyed running from time to time.

"Vernon doesn't know your nasty little secret," began Petunia. "And I want it to stay that way. Do I make myself clear?" Petunia folded her arms and looked down at her shorter sister in an irritable manner.

"What are you going to do if I can't keep my 'nasty little secret,' Petunia?" inquired Lily in a bored tone. Really, Petunia was acting so stupid about this. If Vernon was so important, he was going to find out eventually.

"I can make your summer bearable, or I can make it your worst nightmare."

"Not even you could round up an army of teddy bears and enchant them to say, 'Let James Potter make out with you!'"

Petunia narrowed her eyes. "Very funny. I think I heard Father mention you had a boyfriend. I could tell him that you've been having dreams of making out with James Potter."

"Noooooo!" thought Lily. The last thing my "boyfriend" needs to know is that I'm supposedly dreaming of him. But she smiled, "Go right ahead. You have no way of reaching him."

"Oh, don't I?"

"Look, Petunia, I'll act however I see fit towards Vernon, and that's final. Now, leave me alone. I need to go running."

Petunia sneered and said, "You're such a freak, Lily. I'm surprised anyone would want to kiss you."

Lily smiled. She had wanted to say this to Petunia for a long time. "Yes—well—I won't disagree with you there, Petunia." Petunia smiled. "But you know what, if I'm a freak, you know what you are?" Petunia looked befuddled. "THE SISTER OF A FREAK!" Lily laughed and headed swiftly towards her room while Petunia ground her teeth and went back to her room, which strangely enough, suited her, Lily thought. White walls and one very crazy person…

Lily opened the curtains and cracked open her window. What a lovely view. She would just slip on a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt. Lily did this, and tied her running shoes on. Oh, they felt so good. She hadn't been running since last summer. She stretched, and hurried down the stairs. She waved to her mother who had begun cooking dinner.

"Be home in a couple of hours, Mum!"

"Alright, dear! Be on time—Petunia's boyfriend is coming to dinner and I'm sure he'd love to meet you!"

Apparently, her mother was cooking up something special not only for Lily, but because of Petunia's boyfriend, Vernon.

Lily sped down the front door steps as she inhaled the summer air. Running down the sidewalks past freshly mown lawns, breathing heavily-- Lily was sure there was nothing else like it. Just as she was running out of breath, and the lactic acid was really kicking in, Lily slowed down, noticing an abandoned park. The park was the one she used to play at when she was little, but now, no one seemed to go there anymore, which made Lily feel sorry for it. She sat in a swing, and was delighted that it still moved despite the rust encrusted on the old chains that held the seat.

Lily meandered quietly through some trees and shrubbery that didn't seem to have been planted in any particular order. Just as Lily came upon a particularly large bush, she heard three distinct "pops." Ducking swiftly behind the overgrown shrub, Lily quietly made a hole in the dense foliage with her hands, and was surprised to find something else brush against her elbow.

She hesitantly touched where she felt something on her elbow, and found the something to be very soft, yet liquidy. It felt like something she had seen before…

Before she could do anything else however, the something covered her mouth with an unattached hand. Another hand appeared to lifting something, and to Lily's distinct surprise, it was a head. It was a man. The man put a finger over his mouth, and took his hand away from hers. The man was obviously wearing an invisibility cloak, and was a wizard. Lily wondered if the man knew that she was a witch. If he didn't, he might try to erase her memory, so she mouthed, "Hogwarts," at him, hoping he'd understand. He nodded slightly, and turned his attention to the middle of a grove of trees, just a few meters from the bush. There were three wizards in white masks. Lily gasped in surprise.

One of the wizards turned and said, "Did you hear something?"

"Most likely just the wind," the shortest wizard responded in a throaty voice.

"I hope, for our sake, that is so. The Dark Lord would be very angry if someone heard the little conversation we are about to have," said the first wizard, nastily.

"May we discuss the _Plan_?" demanded a deep voice.

"Ah, yes. Do tell me why the Dark Lord wanted us to meet in this filthy, Muggle park?" asked the short one, in an irritable manner, which did not accentuate his throaty voice well, and came out in a kind of squeak. "My father keeps asking me why I'm late for dinner."

"Still living with your father?" mocked the first wizard, in his overly sweet voice. "How…sweet."

The short one started to reach for his wand when the deep-voiced one said, "Enough! Can you two put aside your little…differences…so that we can discuss something that actually _matters_? Or shall I return to the Dark Lord and say that you just couldn't handle the small mission I was commanded to explain to you?"

"Mission?" the first wizard's thin lips that were just exposed below the mask formed a cruel smile. "What kind of mission does the Dark Lord provide?"

The deep-voiced wizard replied, sounding vaguely amused, "He wants you to kill a Mud-blood, by the name of Lily Evans. She lives at 1538 Cherrydale Rd." Lily nearly choked with surprise. What was she going to do?

"A Mud-blood?" the throaty-voiced one said, not even hiding his contempt. "Why does he need _two_ of us to dispatch of her?"

"In killing her, the Dark Lord makes an example of all Mud-bloods, Muggles, and those who stand in the Dark Lord's way. And, the Dark Lord takes no chances and with both of you, has made sure there is _one_ full brain fulfilling the mission."

"Do we do away with the rest of her family?" asked the thin-lipped one, conversationally.

"Well, naturally," replied the deep-voiced one. Lily was frightened. Not only for herself, but for her family. They were defenseless. She needed to stop these wizards now! But, there was one, small problem. She had no wand.

She turned to the spy next to her, and pointed to herself. In one swift motion, he covered himself in the invisibility cloak and moved away from Lily. Before the three wizards could continue their plan, he had stunned one of them, the one with the deepest voice.

The spy slid behind a tree and pointed his wand at the thin-lipped wizard, and shouted, "STUPEFY!" The short one, however, didn't take any chances. He looked down at the other two wizards and disappeared.

The spy threw off his cloak, and went over to the two unconscious wizards, and bound them. Lily came out from behind the bush and said, "What are we going to do? One of them escaped."

The man nodded. "I will inform the Ministry. I am an Auror. But first, I need to get you to safety. I'm afraid living with your family will be too dangerous. You're going to have to relocate."

"Then you know who I am?" Lily asked, her voice betraying her fear.

The man nodded. "The Ministry will put wards on your house that should protect your family well enough. But I doubt that their Dark Lord will come after your family. It's _you_ that he wants to kill. Disgustingly enough, he isn't satisfied with just that, and must kill your family as well."

"That's… horrible! What if he tries to kill other Muggle-borns?" demanded Lily, her eyes blazing with anger.

"He already has, and will continue to do so. But, we must not linger here. The Deatheater that escaped will bring more with him. I must get you to safety. Take me to your house."

"How do I know this isn't all a trap?" asked Lily, suddenly stopping as they headed in the direction of her home. "What is your name?"

"Alexander Potter."

"Can I ask you a question to make sure you really are Alexander Potter?" Lily inquired.

Mr. Potter smiled and said, "James was right. You are something else."

Lily said, "Who is James' best friend?"

"Sirius Black. Trust me now?"

It was Lily's turn to smile. "Yes, sir. And thank you, by the way, for saving my life."

"I haven't saved it yet. Come, we must hurry!" Lily quickened her pace, breaking into a run. Mr. Potter seemed to have no trouble keeping up with her. As soon as Lily reached the door and knocked, Mr. Evans rushed towards her and opened the door, exclaiming, "Lily! Where have you been? We expected you home an hour ago!"

Mrs. Evans hustled behind him and queried, "Are you all right, Dear?"

"Mum, Dad, I need to talk to you about something very important—and this man here needs to talk to you also. He's a wizard."

"Alright," Mr. Evans turned to his wife. "Why don't you sit down here? We just set the table for dinner, but chairs are chairs." Lily noticed that Vernon and Petunia were already seated, looking very disgruntled at having their dinner postponed.

Mr. Potter smiled and hastily shut the door. "Yes. I'm an Auror at the Ministry of Magic—" At the words "Ministry of Magic," Vernon choked on the lemonade he was gulping down.

Lily interrupted to explain to her father, "An Auror is like a police man, Dad."

"What's wrong? Is Lily in some sort of trouble?" asked Mr. Evans, seeing that all was not right.

"Um, sort of. I don't know if you are aware of this, Mr. Evans," explained Mr. Potter. "But, there is a Dark Wizard"- (at the sound of wizard, Vernon spilled the remaining lemonade on his shirt)- "at large right now, killing people and gaining power rapidly. He kills wizards, witches, and Muggles alike. In short, he planned to kill Lily and your family tonight, but we stopped them."

"He wants to kill Lily? And us?" Mrs. Evans asked, clasping Lily's shoulder as if she were afraid Lily would evaporate if she let go.

"I'm afraid so, Mrs. Evans."

"What are we going to do?" screeched Petunia. "I don't plan to be murdered in my sleep because some criminal wants to kill my freak of a sister!"

"Petunia!" Mr. Evans glared at his daughter warningly. "I won't have you calling your sister a freak in this house."

Vernon shifted his hefty weight uncomfortably. "What are all these wizards and Muddles? Who's the criminal?"

Lily sighed. "I'm a witch, Vernon. As much as Petunia tries to keep it from you, I can perform magical spells." Vernon's piggy eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"That's preposterous! Stop lying, girl! You know that you're one of those loonies who live in mental institutions! Petunia told me! YOU'RE LYING!"

"Vernon!" Mrs. Evans let out in surprise. "Lily is a witch, and if you can't be civil to her in this house, I will not allow Petunia to have a relationship with you." Vernon continued to twitch, but remained silent as an astonished Mr. Potter took this as a cue to continue.

"Lily is not safe here, and I plan to take her somewhere where she will be safe: namely, my home."

"Oh, no," thought Lily, covering her face in her hands. "Now I'll have to see Potter during the summer, too."

"It's all right, Lily," soothed Mrs. Evans. "I'm sure Mr.—I didn't get your name, Sir." Before Mr. Potter could respond, Petunia stood up.

"What about us?" hissed Petunia. "It's all very well that Lily will be taken care of—but what about her family! Don't these miscreants want to kill us, too!"

"Yes," replied Mr. Potter. "Wards will be put around your house. But, I highly doubt that they will come here, knowing that an Auror was with Lily. They would assume that I would relocate her, and they really want her the most."

"But if they knew you were there, wouldn't they know that Lily might go to your home to stay the rest of the summer?" asked Mr. Evans, worried for his daughter.

"I was invisible to them." The purple-faced Vernon jumped out of his seat, and waddled surprisingly quickly out of the room, ("Brandy!") followed by a petulant Petunia.

"Well, then," Mrs. Evans said. "I'm so sorry for their behavior…they're not usually that…um…strange."

"Shock, no doubt," added Mr. Evans for good measure.

"Yes," Mr. Potter accepted, "I'm sure. As for my name—my name is Alexander Potter."

"Potter?" repeated Mr. Evans. "Lily, isn't that your boyfriend's last name?"

"Ah, yes—about that—James isn't actually my boyfriend. Uh, you see—"

"Dear, it's fine! We liked the boy! And we like him even better now that we've met one of his parents," reassured Mrs. Evans.

"I didn't know James was dating you, Lily. You should have said something," Mr. Potter laughed. "Or, wait—did James just _tell_ your parents you were dating?"

Lily started laughing. "I love how you just thought of that without my telling you!"

"I'll have to have a talk with my son. Lily, you must pack your things and say good-bye as quickly as possible."

"I'll do that," replied Lily, and she ran out of the room.

"Hold on," Mr. Evans said, "So Lily isn't dating James?"

* * *

About fifteen minutes later (Lily was an efficient packer), Lily was dragging her things down the stairs. Halfway down, she heard Petunia scream, "I'll get you for what you did, Freak!" Lily didn't even bother responding. But she _was_ glad to see that her trunk was now floating in the air towards Mr. Potter, who promptly minimized it.

"Now, Lily, do you have everything?"

"Yes," she replied, not able to keep back a few tears. "I'll go say good-bye to my parents—I won't be long."

"Yes, of course."

Lily went over to her father and gave him a great hug. "Bye, Dad. I'll miss you. I'm sorry I didn't get to spend much time with you."

"It's all right—I know it's not your fault."

Lily turned to her mother and was wrapped in a tight hug only a mother can give. "Good-bye, Mum. Love you."

"I love you too, Lily, dear. Send lots of letters, and say your prayers. I'll be keeping you in mine."

"Thanks, Mum," Lily said, tearfully, as she kissed both parents one last time. Neither even suggested she go say good-bye to Petunia.

Lily stood up straight and walked towards Mr. Potter. "Have you ever apparated with someone before, Lily?"

"No."

"Alright, well, it's the fastest thing, and since you haven't been hooked up with the Floo network… just hold on to me tightly."

Lily did as he said, although she did feel a little awkward holding on to someone she hardly knew, especially the father of James Potter. A split second later, something was mounding her entire body into a pancake. Lily liked pancakes, but she didn't have any pent-up desire to _be_ one. Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, the pressure was lifted, and Lily felt solid ground beneath her feet.

"All right, there, Lily?" Mr. Potter asked, as he put Lily's trunk back to its original size. "I hear from James that it's not a very comfortable way to travel, but, under the circumstances…"

Hearing about something familiar like James Potter actually helped loosen the knot that had formed in her stomach. At least she _knew_ James Potter. Reluctantly.

"I'm fine, sir, right now, thank you," replied Lily. But she wasn't too sure if she would be fine in the near future…

**R**E_V_**I**E_W_, _R_**e**v_i_e**w**, **review**…I'm dying to hear what you think. And, perhaps it will lessen the pain of having four teeth pulled out of my mouth. **Blasted** wisdom teeth. PhoenixPlume


	15. Casserole, Calamity, and Caverns

Hey, peeps! I know it's been like 2 months but I wrote a nice, long chapter…so please don't be mad at me! Enjoy…-PhoenixPlume

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Ch. 14 Casserole, Calamity, and Caverns 

Lily looked up uncertainly at the big house, having trouble believing that she was here, of all places. Just then, a short woman with fly-away black hair, hurried out the front door, down the steps towards Lily, who was still standing in the same place Mr. Potter had left her.

"You must be Lily Evans!" greeted the woman with messy, black hair, and a welcoming smile. Lily wondered if she were the Potters' maid. James was the type to have very distinguished parents, she was sure.

"Yes," replied Lily.

"I'm Eileen Potter. Paddy will be here to help you right about—" Mrs. Potter stopped when what Lily recognized as a house-elf, popped right before their eyes. So this lady was James' mother? Well, now she knew where Potter got his hair, although it looked different on a woman.

"Paddy at Miss Evans' service!" squeaked the tiny creature. It turned to Mrs. Potter, "Paddy is sorry for her late arrival but Master Potter just set off a dung bomb in Master Black's room and Paddy wanted to clean it up before a full stink bomb war started."

"Don't worry, Paddy," Mrs. Potter reassured the excited elf. "The only one who should be worrying is James. Speaking of which, where is that boy?"

Suddenly, a hand materialized out of nowhere, and started waving wildly at Lily. Lily shook her head, thinking she was seeing things, and then—

"James, stop scaring our guest right now! What did I tell you about using that invisibility cloak?" Mrs. Potter scolded her son, not letting their difference in height disturb her.

A fully visible James cowered slightly, and looking at Lily with something akin to embarrassment, answered, "Ever since I appeared in front of my cousin Marguerite, and caused her to faint (or so you all said), I am banned from using the cloak in front of guests, under penalty of having it taken away for however long you see fit."

"And you disobeyed! Honestly, James, you're impossible!" the little witch continued, while James looked more and more like he wanted to disappear. "Now, take Lily to the kitchen and give her something to eat while I make the arrangements for her room. Do you think you can do that?"

Paddy had already gotten Lily's bag and taken it inside, and did not seem surprised or disturbed at James' admonishment by his mother. Lily, however, was surprised, and decided right then and there, that no matter how messy Mrs. Potter's hair was, she already respected anyone who could make James Potter do what she said.

"Yes, ma'am," James replied, quickly leading the way for Lily, since he was only too glad to make the distance between him and his mother greater.

Breaking the silence, Lily said, "You have a very nice house, where is it exactly?"

"Well, I live in the village of Godric's-Hollow, and—" he lowered his voice, "There's a rumor that some of the houses here have some of Godric Gryffindor's belongings hidden behind secret panels, or buried deep in tunnels under the house."

"Wow," Lily replied, forgetting that James was her least favorite person, "Have you looked around?"

"Yeaaaaah," James drawled, smiling impishly. Lily rolled her eyes.

"_And_…?"

"I'm hungry—are you hungry?"

"James Potter, stop avoiding the question!"

"Lily Evans, whatever are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Are you alright, Evans? I think your head is burning up! Oh, wait—it's just your hair!"

"Ha ha, that joke is so first year—Spikey." They both grinned, and then Lily realized she was grinning at James Potter and returned to her question before. "I'm _serious_—have you looked around your house?"

"Did someone say '_Sirius_?'" asked Sirius, who had just slid down the banister, landing right by Lily and James.

"Yes, Sirius, we were just discussing how ugly and stupid you are," Lily replied in a light voice.

"That's not very nice, _Flower_-face," retorted Sirius, saying "flower-face" in a wimpy voice.

"Dog-breath," Lily countered scathingly.

"Lilliputian," Sirius said, looking down his nose at Lily.

"Hey! I am NOT short!" Lily cried out.

"When you ate those Fizzing Whizbees, your feet didn't reach the floor, so by that definition, you are short," responded James, laughing at the two's insulting match.

"I'm hungry," Sirius declared, running towards the kitchen, followed soon by James and Lily.

"I haven't eaten dinner," stated Lily, as she looked around the kitchen, and saw some casserole with pesto and sausage set out on the counter.

"Wow, no wonder you're in a bad mood," Sirius said in awe.

"We've eaten twice in the past half hour," added James.

"What do you do besides eat and sleep?" inquired Lily.

"Well, Jamesie here talks a lot about his lovely Flower-fa—" Sirius began, an mischievous gleam in his gray eyes, before James kicked him in his shin. "Aaaaah that hurt!"

"Good," murmured James under his breath. "We play Quidditch, and…eat."

"I said _besides_ eating and sleeping."

"Well," James said brightly, "We eat more!"

"That's so unfair! If I ate that much I'd be obese!"

"Well, that's why you don't eat as much," Sirius replied helpfully.

"Can you just give me some casserole already?" Lily demanded desperately. "I haven't eaten since (she checks watch), five hours ago!"

"Here," Sirius handed her the entire container of casserole.

James gave him a look and said, "Padfoot! Lily doesn't eat as much as you do, and doesn't need the whole thing. Let me have that," James said, looking at Lily.

"You called me Lily!" Lily said, handing the container to him without a thought.

"That's your name, isn't it?" James replied, dishing a portion of casserole into a bowl for Lily.

"No—it's Flower-face!" Sirius chuckled.

"Ye-es, but that never stopped you from calling me Evans before."

"Well, now that you're staying here the rest of the summer, I think we should call each other by our first names."

"You're probably right," agreed Lily, taking the bowl from James, and setting it down on the small breakfast table nearby.

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right," James bragged, flashing a smug smile at Lily.

"Except for when you're wrong," Lily added, "Which is most of the time," giving him a superior smirk of her own.

"Mmmm, good casserole," Sirius let out admiringly.

"You took my food!" Lily exclaimed with irritation. "Mine!"

"Vinders heepers, wosers leepers!" Sirius said triumphantly through a mouth of food. Lily made a move to grab the bowl, but Sirius was too quick for her, and ran away with it. Half-way to the doorway, he decided to use his fork as a trebuchet for launching casserole at Lily and James, who had started getting too close for Sirius' liking. That's when Lily lost full control, since she was extremely hungry, and got another small bowl of casserole, and started launching hers at Sirius. James, who had lost control years ago, lifted up the entire container and threw casserole at both Sirius and Lily. The kitchen was beginning to smell very strongly of garlic, when the three heard a fateful sound: Mrs. Potter. They froze, and turned warily towards the direction of Mrs. Potter.

James soon wished they hadn't when Mrs. Potter shrieked, "WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED TO MY KITCHEN?"

"Um—"

"You see—"

"It's her fault!" Sirius and James said together, pointing at Lily, who looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown.

"Why don't I believe you?" asked Mrs. Potter, looking at each face. "Maybe because whenever DISASTER occurs, YOU and SIRIUS are nearby!" She turned to Lily with a benign expression on her face. "What really happened, dear?"

"Actually, it _was_ all of us," Lily answered her honestly. Sirius and James looked at her in astonishment.

"Are you sure they're not putting you up to this?"

"I'm afraid not, Mrs. Potter."

"Well, then, you are all going to your rooms right now, separated from each other," Mrs. Potter commanded, looking around at the messy room in disgust. "Paddy and I can't keep up with the messes you create."

"But Mum--" James started, but Mrs. Potter cut him off.

"No excuses, James. I've had quite enough nonsense. I know your father puts up with this, but I cannot deal with the combined stress of running St. Mungo's, running this household, taking care of all of you, AND cleaning up all the disasters."

"But Mrs. Potter, Lily hasn't eaten yet," Sirius managed to say very quickly before Mrs. Potter could stop him.

Mrs. Potter looked at Lily, who looked very tired and dejected. She had not eaten in hours, had nearly been killed by deatheaters, and had caused mayhem at her benefactor's house--all in one day. Mrs. Potter relented, and smiled kindly at Lily. "Paddy will show you to your room, dear, and bring you something to eat soon."

"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Potter! I'm so sorry about the mess! I don't normally act that immaturely—really!" Lily said breathlessly.

"I forgive you dear—after all, you've had a very overwhelming day. Take a nice, hot shower. That always hits the spot." Mrs. Potter turned to Sirius and James. "And don't even THINK about trying to get into Lily's bathroom, young men." James and Sirius put on angelic faces.

"If you do, you die," added Lily, for good measure, green eyes flaring.

"Why, we would never do something as unchivalrous as that, Lily dearest!" exclaimed James in mock offense.

"Do you think chivalry is dead, dear madam?" asked Sirius theatrically.

"You certainly will be if you don't go to your rooms right now," retorted Mrs. Potter. ""Separated from each other means you stay in your rooms, and your doors _will_ be locked this time." Mrs. Potter fired James and Sirius stern looks. "Paddy, show Lily to her room, please."

"Paddy would love to!" Paddy answered, scurrying up to Lily, waving her hand towards the kitchen doorway.

"What, Mother? We don't get shown to _our_ rooms?" James inquired in a hurt tone.

"Good night, James," Mrs. Potter replied, ending the conversation.

"G'night, Mum."

"G'night, Mrs. Potter!"

"Good night, Sirius."

As the boys climbed the staircase, they began plotting on how to escape their rooms without opening the doors, since the locking spell Mrs. Potter used really worked.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lily had just followed Paddy into a lovely sage green room. The paneled walls had a green vine border, and her bed had a soft, green bedspread and white, lace canopy. Lily thought she was dreaming. "Pinch me."

"Paddy would never pinch Miss Evans!" Paddy cried out in shock. "'T would be improper!"

"It's an expression, Paddy—I didn't mean to offend you," explained Lily, smiling down at the insulted house-elf.

"Oh, well then. Miss Evans would like to see her bathroom? There's a lovely bath and shower for Miss to enjoy!" Paddy led her into the bathroom. It had pale green and pink stripes cascading down the walls, elegant green carpet with pink roses, a darling wooden vanity, a sink, and a shower and bath combined, with a million different taps for Lily to have fun trying. Lily was amazed.

"It's—beautiful!"

"Paddy will tell Mistress that you liked it. Paddy suggests that Miss Evans take a shower, and dinner will be set on the table by the window when Miss gets out."

"Thank you so much, Paddy!" Lily exclaimed gratefully. "Can I give you a hug?"

"Miss wants to give Paddy a hug?" Paddy asked incredulously.

"Is that alright?" Lily inquired, now unsure if her request was so very unorthodox.

"Paddy would love Miss to give Paddy a hug." Lily bent down and gave the house-elf and hug.

"Well," the house-elf said, as she headed toward the door, "Paddy will see Miss Ev—"

"Miss Lily," corrected Lily.

"Miss Lily?" repeated Paddy, eyes wide.

"Evans is so…dull."

"Whatever Miss…Lily wants."

"Thank you, Paddy."

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Lily found her shower delightfully refreshing, and had to admit that trying all the different knobs was fascinating—almost as good as trying all the different samples of chocolate at Honeydukes—almost.

After drying herself off and putting on her pj's, which consisted of a tye-dye T-shirt (The Beatles) and lime green lounge pants, Lily opened the door from the bathroom into her bedroom, only to feel a tug in her chest, which she recognized as homesickness. But before she could over-analyze it, she walked towards the table, now set with chicken soup, rolls, butter, and tea. Just as she was about to sit down, she heard a very peculiar noise. Turning in the noise's direction, Lily could not believe her eyes: she thought she was seeing one of the sage green panels moving.

Shaking her head, Lily sat down, and took a sip of tea. It was chamomile, very relaxing to her frustrated state of mind. Unfortunately, unlike her mind, Lily's ears were not comforted—they heard the funny creaking noise again. Lily sighed agitatedly, and turned her head, and this time, she could not convince herself that she was seeing things—the panel was definitely moving. Scanning the room for her dirty clothes, in which she had left her wand; Lily was disappointed to see that Paddy must have taken them to be washed. Lily decided that she would deal with whatever it was later, and continued to eat.

When she had nearly finished, she saw that the panel had just given way, and dust clouded the area around the panel, so that she couldn't see what had caused the panel to open so strangely.

"I can't believe there was one leading into her room!" exclaimed a voice that bore striking resemblance to James'.

"Too bad there wasn't one leading into her bathroom," laughed another voice that sounded like Sirius. Lily smiled wickedly to herself, and decided to pay the boys back for worrying her and depriving her of food for so long, and any other inconvenience they had caused her in the past, by getting the water pitcher for her tea, enchanted to stay piping hot, and pouring it on them, just as they began to emerge.

"Aaaah! Why is it so hot?" James asked as if in pain.

"I'm disappointed in you, Pot—James," Lily said mockingly, "I could have sworn you would have said it's hot in here because of you!"

"Hey! You stole that from me, Prongs!" accused Sirius from the bathroom, where he had run like a chicken with his head cut off, in order to find a towel. "I get to use your 'I'm good at everything' line since you stole my 'It must be me' line."

"Honestly, you two need to be more original," Lily remarked. "How about this one? My head is so big it won't fit through the portrait hole? Or—I eat so much a giant's appetite doesn't hold a candle to mine?"

"Awww…Lily, I didn't know you cared," James responded, smiling once again, now that he had taken Sirius' towel and dried off the hot water.

"Butter!" called out a gleeful Sirius. But Lily snatched it away from him triumphantly.

"Not until you tell me how you got here!"

"Well you know how I told you that some houses in Godric's- Hollow have secret tunnels?" James began, relishing Lily's unhidden curiosity and impatience.

"Yes…"

"What am I doing? Here—I'll show you!" James exclaimed, pulling Lily towards the opened panel enthusiastically, and shutting the panel with a resounding thump, while Sirius took this opportunity to sit down and eat Lily's rolls and butter.

"Where are we—" Lily was cut off suddenly as she stepped a little too far, and fell down about ten steps.

"You weren't supposed to fall down the stairs," James remarked knowingly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lily replied scathingly, "Maybe if you hadn't shut the panel I could see in here."

"Oh, blast," James muttered. Then, deciding it would be fun to spook Lily some more, James pretended to try to open the panel. "It won't budge either," he added in a disappointed voice, hoping she wouldn't think of trying to push it also.

"Oh, great," Lily said, slumping against the wall of the tunnel. "You could try yelling to Sirius."

"These walls are sound-proof."

"Darn."

"Soooo…been practicing Quidditch?" James inquired, sitting down next to her. He had tried to think of an appropriate conversation starter, since he had discovered that talking about himself might go under the infamous title of being a self-centered prat.

"Yes, P-James," Lily replied sarcastically, "I've really had time since I got home from the Hogwarts Express. I mean, in between threats from my messed-up sister and deatheaters, I've _really _had time."

"Oh, right—sorry,"James said quickly, sensing a sore subject, "I forgot about that."

"Oh my gosh, James—did you just apologize?" Lily asked, in a slightly more friendly voice.

"Uh—yeah…I guess I did," James said slowly, as if he had just made a discovery.

"I forgive you," Lily said, sighing. She was very tired.

"What happened exactly? What about your sister—I didn't see her at the station," James commented.

"Oh, Petunia never comes to pick me up. We don't really get along; when we were little, she was always very bossy and difficult, and when I left for Hogwarts…it just got worse."

"But she threatened you?" James demanded in disbelief.

"Yeah…she really hates the fact that I'm a witch. She thinks witches and wizards are freaks. So, she didn't want her boyfriend, a really ugly brute that resembles a troll, in both appearance and brains, to know about my being a witch."

"That's crazy! Doesn't she care that you're her sister? Man, I've always wanted a brother or sister. And I bet you'd make a great sister," James declared, smiling warmly towards Lily at his last statement.

Lily smiled back, and said, "It's not easy being a Muggleborn: I don't really fit in either world. The Slytherins think I should go back to the Muggle world, and my sister thinks witches are freaks."

"You're not a freak," James told her, suddenly really wishing he could put his arm around Lily and protect her. "Don't believe anyone who tells you that. And if someone is enough of an idiot to say that, I'll make sure they don't say it ever again."

"Thanks, James—but I can take care of myself, you know."

"What about those deatheaters then?" asked James. "Weren't they planning on killing you?"

"And my family," Lily added quietly. "That's why your father took me here—so that they couldn't find me."

"Is your family okay?"

"Your dad said that they wanted to kill me; my family was just a bonus. And, the ministry is putting wards around my house. So hopefully…" Lily drifted off.

"Don't worry, Lily. They'll probably be okay."

"I'm tired, James…it's been a long day…"

"You can lean on my shoulder—I won't do anything—I promise," James told her softly.

"I know, James," Lily said back, resting her head on his shoulder. "Because, if you did, I would do a lot more than pour boiling water on you."

James chuckled. "G'night, Lily."

"G'night," she murmured sleepily, wondering how James could go from being so arrogant and immature to so kind and reassuring.

_**REVIEW! **_(it makes me happy!) and if I'm happy...you'll get a chapter sooner since I have more time now that cross country is over!


	16. Godric's Last Will and Testament

Yes, it's been a while…I almost thought I wouldn't ever finish this story…due to lack of reviews for my last chapter (I'm a bit spoiled, I suppose). You can thank my readers on who encouraged me to write more because they actually reviewed. So, if you want me to continue, you'll do the same. Thanks much! **Phoenix**_Plume_

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**Ch. 15 Godric's Last Will and Testament**

Lily awoke in a strange position, and wondered why it was still so dark. She knew she'd been sleeping for a long time. Then, she remembered. _Threats from deatheaters. James Potter's house. Stuck door…stupid cavern…bumpy shoulder…_

"James," Lily murmurred groggily. "Why is your shoulder so bony?"

"Mehhhhhhh," James responded intelligently. Lily leaned towards his ear. And proceeded to shout.

"JAMES POTTER! WHY…when are we getting out of here?"

"Aarrrgh…g'way, Mum…it's not time to get up yet…summer dontcha know…"

"What do I have to do to get you to wake up?" Lily demanded, starting to tire of her attempts to wake up James.

"Kiss."

"I _absolutely_ refuse."

"Darn it," James grinned, opening one devilishly gleaming eye. "I was really hoping you'd fall for that."

"Idiot," Lily spat, punching him in the shoulder, but not forcefully. Her elbow brushed against a metal ring, rusty by its feel, that hung on the stone wall behind them. She turned, and not thinking of anything else to do, tugged on it. It made a creaky sound.

"What's that noise?" James inquired, turning around as well.

"There's a rusty ring of some sort that's attached to the wall. I think it opens to another tunnel or something."

"Let me try pulling," James commanded.

"I'm doing perfectly fine, thanks for asking," Lily replied haughtily.

"No, otherwise," James pulled on the ring, rewarded by a longer creak of an opening door, "You'd have already opened it like I just have."

"Show off," grumbled Lily. "And when do we get to eat breakfast? Wait, what am I saying? When do we get out of here, period?"

"And I thought you were a Gryffindor, _Evans_," James said to rile Lily up. Lily huffed and forced her way past him into the unknown tunnel. Candles lit the tunnel, emitting dancing golden light that bounced all over the ceiling.

"Wow. Look at those candelabras…they must be…" Lily let out with amazement.

"From the time of Godric Gryffindor? Undoubtedly," James finished for her. "Coming?"

"Of course," Lily responded, emerald eyes blazing just as much as the candles. The two traipsed along the stone path. Suddenly, Lily stopped.

"I just noticed something," she whispered.

"What?"

"The candelabras…I think some of them mark doorways to more tunnels."

"Why do you think that?" James asked, looking down at Lily as if he thought she were brilliant.

"Some have a ring hanging underneath them," Lily's voice echoed ominously.

"Echo," James murmurred, thick brows wrinkling in thought.

"Yes, James, voices do that," Lily said as if speaking to a mental patient.

"No!" James exclaimed hotly, "Not unless the walls are hollow on the outside." Lily's face lit up with understanding.

"Do you want to…" Lily began uncertainly.

"Yeah," James answered, stepping towards one of the candelabras with a rusty ring underneath. He pulled. The ring did not give…it merely tore off.

"Maybe it's a false door," Lily said with disappointment, nearing the candelabra, and feeling the spot the ring had previously covered. Her fingers pressed on the spot, and it gave way suddenly. "Aaah!"

"Lily!" James shouted helplessly, grabbing her arm futilely. The two tumbled down a long slide.

"Ugh," Lily groaned. "What is it with you? Do you _like_ falling on top of me?"

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact," James responded with amusement to the flustered redhead. "Especially in a room of trinkets like this."

"Trinkets?" Lily repeated dubiously. "Where?"

"They're floating above you," James replied as if it were obvious.

"Well, I would know that, wouldn't I, with a great lob like you on top of my back," Lily griped, pushing James off of her unceremoniously. "Wow," Lily breathed, as she looked around the room. "I wonder how many other rooms there are like this."

"Let's explore this one first," James said, his eyes roaming the spacious hall with curiosity. Scarlet and gold memorabilia fluttered tantalizingly.

"How? Everything's floating in the air!" Lily demanded rhetorically. "Except those lion sconces."

They walked toward the sconces, but after pulling and rubbing and glaring at it, and nothing happening, both sighed and decided to regroup.

"Everything's floating in the air," Lily repeated with little hope in her voice.

"Well, we could do the old 'I lift you up on my shoulders' routine," James smiled, kneeling expectantly. Lily looked away.

"I refuse to act like a cheerleader."

"A what?"

"Muggle girls who wear short skirts and get lifted up by strong guys or girls depending on whether it's high school or university…"

"That sounds like a sight for sore eyes. That sounds _really_ good. Can I go?" James asked hopefully. "As long as you're wearing one of those short skirts."

Lily suppressed a smile. "I don't think so." She turned and noticed a golden Quidditch cup hovering just out of her reach, dating back to 1002 A.D. "JAMES! BROOMS!"

"Brooms, Lily? Have you gone mad?" James put his hand (which Lily noticed was rather rough and a bit dirty) to her head. Lily pushed off his hand.

"No! We can fly on them and figure this place out!" she exclaimed, already searching for some broomsticks.

"That's right," James mused, light dawning visibly in his mind. "About ten years after they founded Hogwarts, Quidditch came along."

"Yes, of course," Lily murmured, green eyes flickering everywhere.

"You think the brooms are in a different room?" James suggested. The two still hadn't seen any brooms.

"I think I'll try _accio_ing it." Lily said, tired of looking.

"You are actually going to use magic outside of school, Miss Evans?"

"I don't think the Ministry is going to be able to trace magic over here, somehow," Lily answered.

"You don't have a broom, do you?" James asked, shaking his head at the things he was discovering about Lily Prefect Evans.

"No, but Sirius does. And hopefully, he's using it and will _pay_ for not looking for us," Lily responded spitefully.

"I knew you were a troublemaker at heart, Lily-Pad," James beamed proudly.

"I prefer to say that I am _innovative_," Lily retorted, frustrated from a stressful yesterday and a hungry today.

"I think I'm rather enjoying this adventure," James announced, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"You would," Lily said. She was enjoying it too…in the sense that she was seeing her house's founder's legacy.

"Oh, come on—you know you love my company!"

Lily gave him a long look.

"Deep down."

"Try harder," Lily commanded, looking at James very pointedly.

"Really really really deep deep deep down."

Lily pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"Your lips look really cute that way," James observed teasingly. Lily's long lashes flipped up and took another long look at him.

"Potter, pretend to focus, please."

"Right. _Accio_ broom!" A broom fell down on James's head. The hard knock caused James to stumble.

"Are you all right?" Lily asked anxiously.

"Yeah…I'm all right. Yourself?"

Lily laughed. "You are really daft sometimes, James Potter. You just got hit by a broom, and your asking me how _I'm_ doing."

"Wait 'til you get your broom," James smirked. Lily rolled her eyes. _I left my wand in my room…the guest room._

"Can I borrow your wand, if you please?" James handed it to her. "_Accio_ broom!" _Ouch_. The broom had landed on Lily's head.

"JAMES POTTER!" said girl shouted in pain.

"Yes, Lily-Pad?" the much taller James Potter trembled under Lily's acid green glare.

"If you ever, _ever_ do that again, you'll be much more than daft."

"Being Gryffindor's Seeker, you'll get more knocks than that, Evans." James patted her on the back. "You okay?"

"Except for a lump on on my head and by my side—brilliant. No thanks to _you_," she hissed.

"There aren't really that many things up there," James said, glancing up.

"There were a few things up there before we got the brooms," Lily replied contemplatively, mounting her broom expertly (or as expertly as a hungry teenaged girl who'd had a hard knock to her head.)

Watching Lily mount, James declared brightly, "Well, this will be fun! I just love the _chase,_ don't you?"

Lily groaned. "I've noticed that." _You have no problems chasing me at school_.

"I am a chaser; of course you have. Let's kick it, shall we?" James also mounted, and they kicked off.

Lily and James flew through the air softly, searching for any signs of Gryffindor's heirlooms.

A big fan of Muggle mysteries, Lily imagined hidden pannels and loose bricks would be some places to check. Although, she smiled to herself, Gryffindor was a rogue, and undoubtedly a creative one who hid things in random and unthought of places. _Like the Marauders._

_If I were Gryffindor, where would I hide my treasures?_ James hovered uncertainly by a very dusty square of bricks…at least he thought they were bricks. Touching them, James realized that they were very smooth…paper smooth. "Lily! I think I may have found something!" James knew how many secrets a piece of paper could hold.

Lily zoomed towards James and stared at what James was concentrating on. "Is that paper?"

James nodded. "I'm not sure how to go about taking it off…I mean…it's probably really old…I don't want to break it."

Lily sighed. "It's enchanted by one of the greatest wizards in history. Do you really think it's stayed intact this long without _loads_ of enchantments to keep it from destruction by a few teenagers?"

James shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder if we were switched at birth. You're more of a pureblood than I'll ever be with all that knowledge, Lils."

Lily shrugged noncomittally. "You were born into all the traditions and such, James. There's no competition in who's ahead of the game."

"Yeah," James laughed. "You're it."

"What?" Lily asked, confused.

"You know, tag, you're it."

"Oh, brother."

"Not your brother. Wouldn't want to be."

"Not this again." James laughed and tried to pry the paper off the dusty wall. It wouldn't budge.

"Great," Lily said. "Let me see it." She observed it closely. "I think It's a sticking charm."

"Oh, I didn't know _that_," James responded sarcastically.

"Apparently not," Lily said bitingly back. "Hand me your wand."

"Are you going to hex me?" James asked earnestly, withholding his wand from her cautiously.

"Only if you don't let me try to take the parchment off the wall."

"Oh," he said. "Here then."

Lily's eyes were fixed on the parchment. She smoothed her hand over the parchment, and when the line of the paper ended, she noticed that there was no thickness discernable…the bricks and paper seemed one. "Strange. The paper is an illusion…I think it's something else."

James's expression squirmed. "I think I know how to reveal it…let me see." _Like revealing an animagus…only this isn't an animagus._ James flicked his wand in a very complicated manner. Lily tried to keep up with his wrist movement, but was only confused. Suddenly, the 'paper' became a Snitch. "Get it, Lily!" Lily closed her eyes and breathed. Every time she thought she was going to get somewhere, there was another step.

Lily whipped past James in attempt to catch the snitch. "Blasted thing," Lily muttered irritably. The winged fleck of gold whizzed past her nose in a teasing fashion. "Oh, no you don't!" Lily followed it as quickly as she could. The broom was rather slow, she noticed. _Ancient Quidditch gear_. "Help me, James! Are you on my team or not?"

James was surprised at her statement. _We are on the same team_. "I'll tackle it from this side, Lily!"

"'Kay, well get on with it!" James flew toward the snitch, which instantly changed directions, and darted toward a corner. Lily was on it in a second. Catching it, Lily, closely followed by James, flew down to the "ground."

The snitch turned into a flat lion. Lily turned her head quickly. Where had she seen a lion of that shape and size? The sconce! The lion fit right into a sconce on the wall! James noticed what Lily did at the same time.

"The sconces," James stated succinctly. Lily nodded. "Which one first?" Lily pointed to the one they had poked at for five minutes.

"I really hope this gets us to something interesting."

"Yeah, I guess all the other things were clues or illusions. I don't know where those things that were suspended in the air went," James said. Lily took the lion, and was about to fit it into the sconce, when she stopped.

"Why'd you stop?" James asked.

"In case it's a portkey or something, maybe you should grab my hand."

"Lily dearest! I had no idea you wanted to hold my hand _so_ much!" James cried out gleefully, taking her hand possessively.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Stop being such a prat, Potter." ("Surnames are we going by again, are we?" James inquired conceitedly). "I just thought you'd want to come—but I'm perfectly capable of finding Gryffindor's legacy myself if you would rather be a jerk."

"I'll come to protect you with my…uh…pratliness," James volunteered, smiling apologetically. He took her hand. Lily smiled slightly and fit the lion into the engraving in the sconce.

"It fits," James breathed, squeezing her hand.

"It does," Lily breathed, excitement apparent in her voice. She didn't even seem to mind James's hand. Nothing happened.

"Isn't something supposed to happen?" James wondered aloud.

Lily looked at him uncertainly. "I thought so…"

Releasing Lily's hand, James punched the lion in frustration, and low and behold, a cabinet, invisible to the eye before, opened up.

"I never thought I'd see the day when I was greatful for your violent ways to solving problems," Lily declared drily.

"What do you mean?" demanded James defensively.

"Well, Snape for example. You deal with him through violence. When you're in a bad mood, you hex people…that's violent. When your hormones get out of your control, you go snog a girl." James raised an eyebrow at that statement. Lily blushed, but continued. "Well, I did hear your techniques were somewhat…um…_passionate_?"

James grinned his infamous infuriating grin. "Wanna see how it's done, Evans? Lily?" Lily didn't meet his eyes, and instead, returned back to the subject at hand.

"I really think we should see what's inside this little secret compartment, don't you?" Her voice, James noticed with pleasure, was a little higher pitched. _There's hope for me yet_.

"Yeah," James decided to leave their previous topic alone. He didn't want to scare her away. "Let's check it out."

Lily reached into the cabinet. She was surprised to see it wasn't dusty. _Does that mean the other thing always had dust on it? A camouflage perhaps? _"There's something here." Lily's hand grazed something metal…_somethings_.

"I think there are some metal things in here…and some parchment.

"Lumos," James uttered, holding his wand up to the dark cabinet. "Yep." He grabbed the parchment. Lily took a box and a chain with a ruby.

Lily stifled a gasp. _A ruby! It's beautiful!_

Meanwhile, James was examining the parchment. "It's Godric Gryffindor's last will and testament," James said slowly, disbelief written all over his face.

"Unbelievable," Lily said, saying just what James was thinking.

"I know," he agreed.

"What does it say?" she asked. Looking down at the box, she realized she should probably open it. "Mirrors," Lily muttered.

James looked over at what Lily was holding. "Wow. That's some ruby—you can have that I suppose." Lily was already putting it on. James grinned at her impetuosity. Once Lily Evans was away from Hogwarts, she was quite an adventurer.

"It is," Lily aquiesced. "But, I really have no idea what these mirrors are for." She handed them to James, who let her hold the parchment, which she proceeded to read.

"Hm," James said. "I guess we'll have time later to see what these are for. I don't see why Godric would have wanted them—he wasn't such a looker according to history. Lily chuckled at what she was reading.

"He without doubt had a sense of hilarity." Her eyes betrayed humor. _"To whomever may find this chamber: never let anyone related to Slytherin touch my belongings. If whomever may find this chamber does do said deed, he shall suffer greatly whenever he **sits**."_ James coughed.

"What else does it say?"

"That's all it says. Except for _'Godric Gryffindor, January 21st, 1006.'_" Lily replied, looking at the paper from all angles. "Certainly had a way with words, didn't he?"

"I guess he just wanted whoever discovered his things to figure them out for himself," James stated.

Lily nodded. "That does sound like the kind of thing our founder _would_ have wanted."

"The kind of thing I want is to get us out of here," James declared, grabbing hold of Lily's wrist. He was rather peckish, and knew Lily was very tired, judging from her mood.

"The question is, how?" Lily said. "My door's stuck, you said."

"We'll go back to my room, of course," James responded as a matter of course.

"Why couldn't we do that last night?" Lily groaned. "It's down the passageway from my room, right?"

"It was dark."

"You have a wand."

"I didn't want to risk you falling."

"Sure. I would rather fall and sleep in your bed—not like that, you wanker! You'd sleep in a chair or sofa."

"Oh, alright—I'm sorry. I am a prat," James acknowledged in defeat, ready to take a slap from the girl he admired so very much.

"Well, at least you admit it," Lily allowed, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Follow me, then," James smiled.

And she did, at least then.

* * *

I HOPE YOU LIKED IT! Review and let me know if I should keep writing…otherwise…no point, huh?

-**Phoenix**_Plume_


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